Optical cable

Abstract

The present application belongs to the field of cable, and particularly relates to an optical cable. The optical cable comprises a sheath layer, a first support body, a second support body and an optical fiber wire. The sheath layer is provided with an inner cavity, the first support body is arranged in the inner cavity, and the outer wall of the first support body is separated from the inner wall of the inner cavity. The first support body extends outward to form a plug-in rib, the plug-in rib extends and is inserted into the sheath layer. The first support body is provided with a middle cavity, the second support body is arranged in the middle cavity, and the outer wall of the second support body is separated from the inner wall of the inner cavity. The second support body is provided with an optical fiber cavity for the optical fiber wire at the axial center of the optical cable. The second support body extends outward to form a support rib. The optical cable can produce different mechanical performance characteristics under the condition of adjusting only the sheath layer. The sheath layer is the final processing, which has low difficulty and high efficiency, and can quickly prepare the optical cable with different performance characteristics, thereby improving the preparation efficiency and reducing the preparation and design cost.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Indoor optical fiber cables are optical cables laid inside buildings, mainly used for communication equipment, computers, switches, and terminal equipment in buildings to transmit information.

[0003] Indoor optical cables are classified according to their usage environment, as opposed to outdoor optical cables. Since most indoor optical cables cannot be laid simultaneously during interior decoration, limitations imposed by building environment and laying conditions have led to more complex structural designs, a greater variety of materials used for optical fibers and cables, and differences in the emphasis on mechanical and optical performance depending on usage requirements.

[0004] Currently, no single type of optical cable on the market offers the versatility of multiple functionalities. Different designs and independent manufacturing processes are required to meet varying needs. This results in higher-than-expected manufacturing costs for optical cable manufacturers, and also prevents customers from quickly obtaining the necessary products. However, adopting a design that combines a general-purpose structure with some variable elements allows for prefabrication of the optical cable, followed by simple final processing to manufacture the cable and effectively adjust its mechanical properties to meet different requirements. This approach is highly advantageous for both manufacturers (reducing costs) and customers (enabling rapid product delivery). Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the issues that existing optical cable structures cannot simultaneously meet diverse performance requirements, and that independent design and manufacturing lead to high actual production costs and long product acquisition cycles, this invention provides an optical cable.

[0006] The main objective of this invention is:

[0007] I. Through modular design, optical cables are easier to manufacture and produce, resulting in different mechanical properties.

[0008] II. With only partial structural changes, optical cables with different structures can meet different usage requirements.

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

[0010] An optical cable, comprising:

[0011] Sheath layer, first support body, second support body, and optical fiber;

[0012] The sheath layer has a regular polygonal inner cavity, and a first support body is provided in the inner cavity. The first support body is a regular polygon in the cross-section of the optical cable, and its number of sides is equal to the number of sides of the inner cavity and is coaxially arranged with the inner cavity. The outer wall of the first support body is arranged directly opposite to the inner wall of the inner cavity, and the two are separated from each other.

[0013] On the radial cross-section of the optical cable, the corner of the first support extends outward to form a plug rib, which extends and inserts into the sheath layer.

[0014] The first support body has a central cavity, which is also a regular polygonal structure with the same number of sides as the inner cavity. The sides of the central cavity are located radially inside the corners of the first support body.

[0015] The second support is disposed inside the cavity. It is a regular polygon in the cross-section of the optical cable. The number of its sides is equal to the number of sides of the cavity and it is coaxially arranged with the cavity. The outer wall of the second support is disposed directly opposite to the inner wall of the cavity, and the two are separated from each other.

[0016] The second support body has an optical fiber cavity at the axis of the optical cable, and the optical fiber cavity is filled with optical fiber lines along the axial direction of the optical cable.

[0017] The corner of the second support on the radial cross section of the optical cable extends outward to form a support rib.

[0018] As a preferred option

[0019] The first support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.8 to 1.5 GPa.

[0020] As a preferred option

[0021] The support rib is inserted into the sheath layer, and the outer end of the support rib extends outward to both sides in the circumferential direction.

[0022] As a preferred option

[0023] The second support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.05 to 0.10 GPa.

[0024] As a preferred option

[0025] The inner wall of the cavity is provided with a groove, and the support rib is abutted and embedded in the groove of the inner wall of the sheath layer, and the outer end of the support rib extends outward to both sides in the circumferential direction.

[0026] As a preferred option

[0027] The second support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.3 to 0.5 GPa.

[0028] As a preferred option

[0029] The support rib extends into the inner cavity and abuts against the surface of the inner wall of the inner cavity, with the ends of the support rib spreading out to both sides in the circumferential direction.

[0030] As a preferred option

[0031] The second support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.08 to 0.15 GPa.

[0032] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0033] In the optical cable of this invention, all structures except the sheath layer can be prefabricated as fixed parts. Different mechanical properties can be produced by adjusting only the sheath layer. The processing of the sheath layer is low in difficulty and high in efficiency, and can be performed as a final processing step. Therefore, optical cables with different performance characteristics can be quickly prepared, improving the preparation efficiency and reducing the preparation and design costs. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the first type of support rib connection method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the compressive strength of the first type of support rib connection method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the second type of support rib connection method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the torsional resistance of the second type of support rib connection method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the third type of support rib connection method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the impact resistance of the third type of support rib connection method in this embodiment of the invention;

[0040] In the diagram: 100 sheath layer, 101 inner cavity, 200 first support, 201 plug rib, 202 middle cavity, 300 second support, 301 support rib, 302 fiber cavity, 400 fiber optic cable. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The present invention will be further described clearly and in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement the present invention based on these descriptions. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention described below are generally only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "thickness," "upper," "lower," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified, and "several" means one or more.

[0043] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows communication between them; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise explicitly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0044] Unless otherwise specified, all raw materials used in the embodiments of the present invention are commercially available or obtainable by those skilled in the art; unless otherwise specified, all methods used in the embodiments of the present invention are methods mastered by those skilled in the art.

[0045] Example

[0046] One such Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 5 The optical cable shown specifically includes:

[0047] Sheath layer 100, first support 200, second support 300 and optical fiber 400;

[0048] The sheath layer 100 has a regular polygonal inner cavity 101, and a first support 200 is provided in the inner cavity 101. The first support 200 is a regular polygon in the cross section of the optical cable, and its number of sides is equal to the number of sides of the inner cavity 101 and it is coaxially arranged with the inner cavity 101. The outer wall of the first support 200 is arranged directly opposite to the inner wall of the inner cavity 101, and the two are separated from each other.

[0049] On the radial cross section of the optical cable, the corner of the first support 200 extends outward to form a plug rib 201. The plug rib 201 extends and inserts into the sheath layer 100, and the outer end of the plug rib 201 expands outward to both sides in a circumferential direction for fixation.

[0050] Through the special structural form and fixing form of the above-mentioned plug rib 201, the main body of the first support 200 can be separated from the sheath layer 100, while having a good support and fixing effect. In addition, the first support 200 is made of a rigid elastic material, that is, a material with an elastic modulus of 0.8 to 1.5 GPa, such as silicone rubber. In this embodiment, silicone rubber with an elastic modulus of 1.2 GPa is used for preparation.

[0051] The first support body 200 has a central cavity 202. The central cavity 202 is also a regular polygonal structure with the same number of sides as the inner cavity 101. The sides of the central cavity 202 are correspondingly arranged on the radially inner side of the corner of the first support body 200.

[0052] The second support 300 is disposed inside the cavity 202. It is a regular polygon in the cross-section of the optical cable. Its number of sides is equal to the number of sides of the cavity 202 and it is coaxially disposed with the cavity 202. The outer wall of the second support 300 is disposed directly opposite to the inner wall of the inner cavity 101, and the two are separated from each other.

[0053] The second support 300 has an optical fiber cavity 302 at the axis of the optical cable, and the optical fiber cavity 302 is filled with optical fiber lines 400 along the optical cable axis.

[0054] The corner of the second support 300 on the radial cross section of the optical cable extends outward to form a support rib 301;

[0055] The support rib 301 passes through the first support body 200 and forms a mating connection with the sheath layer 100. Specifically, there are three mating connection methods.

[0056] The first type of connection method is as follows: Figure 1 As shown;

[0057] The support rib 301 is inserted into the sheath layer 100, and the outer end of the support rib 301 extends outward to both sides in the circumferential direction. With this structure, the optical cable of the present invention has relatively optimal compressive strength, such as... Figure 2As shown, after the optical cable is subjected to external force, the plug rib 201 and the first support body 200 play the role of initial pressure resistance and support. Moreover, the multi-level split design can effectively block the direct action of external force and conduction to the optical fiber 400. After the plug rib 201 is subjected to force, it will deform and displace inward, causing the cavity 202 to deform. During deformation, due to the design characteristics of the second support body 300, the wall of the cavity 202 squeezes and causes the support rib 301 to bend and deform, causing the second support body 300 to move, avoiding the cavity 202 of the first support body 200 from directly exerting force on the second support body 300. The support and deformation of the support rib 301, in turn, conduct outward, so that the sheath layer 100 absorbs and buffers the force for the second time, producing a multi-level pressure resistance and buffering effect.

[0058] For this configuration, the second support 300 should be made of a similar elastic-rigid material as the first support 200. For example, in this embodiment, the same silicone rubber as the first support 200 is used. Compared with the use of flexible elastic material, the second support 300 made of silicone rubber with an elastic modulus of 1.2 GPa has a significantly improved performance under the same dB (loss rate) conditions during the lateral pressure test. Specifically, in the comparative group of this embodiment, latex material with an elastic modulus of 0.1 GPa is used as the flexible elastic material. The optical cable with the second support 300 made of elastic-rigid material has a compressive strength performance that is about 21% higher than that made of flexible elastic material.

[0059] It is evident that for the above-mentioned special structural configurations, the choice of materials will also result in significant performance differences;

[0060] The second type of connection method is as follows: Figure 3 As shown;

[0061] The inner wall of the inner cavity 101 is provided with a groove, and the support rib 301 abuts and is embedded in the groove of the inner wall of the inner cavity 101 of the sheath layer 100. The outer end of the support rib 301 extends to both sides in the circumferential direction. With this structure, the optical cable of the present invention has relatively optimal anti-torsion ability.

[0062] When the optical cable is subjected to a circumferential torsional force applied to the sheath layer 100, such as Figure 4As shown, the sheath layer 100 and the insertion rib 201 of the first support 200 directly generate torsion, which to a certain extent causes the support rib 301 to deform. During this deformation process, the support rib 301 bends and its radial length of the optical cable contracts, causing it to disengage from the groove. After disengaging from the groove, the elastic restoring force of the support rib 301 causes it to bounce rapidly, causing the second support 300 to rotate rapidly in a circumferential direction. Subsequently, the support rib 301 re-embeds into the groove. At this time, the inner wall of the optical fiber cavity 302 and the optical fiber 400 quickly overcome static friction to form sliding friction, thereby reducing the torsion of the optical fiber 400. The material used for the second support 300 should be a medium elastic material with an elastic modulus of 0.3 to 0.5 GPa. For example, in this embodiment, low-density polyethylene with an elastic modulus of 0.3 GPa is used. If an elastic modulus of 0.1 GPa is used... When the flexible latex material is used to prepare the second support 300, the support rib 301 is prone to problems such as difficulty in disengaging from the groove at the end, significant stretching in the middle, or even breakage in the middle during the torsion process. Compared with the experimental group using a medium elastic material with an elastic modulus of 0.3 GPa to prepare the second support 300, the control group using flexible latex material has a 5% increase in dB loss when the sheath layer 100 is twisted at the same 180° angle, and the required torsional force is only 89% of that of the experimental group, showing a significant difference. However, if silicone rubber with an elastic modulus of 1.2 GPa is used to prepare the second support 300, the support rib 301 is easy to disengage from the groove but difficult to form a secondary embedding under elastic action, causing the second support 300 to passively follow the rotation of the first support 200. The internal optical fiber 400 has the largest torsion angle. When the sheath layer 100 is twisted at the same 180° angle, the dB loss is 11% higher than that of the experimental group, and the required torsional force is 96% of that of the experimental group.

[0063] Therefore, it is evident that for the above configuration, a medium elastic material should be selected for the preparation of the second support 300;

[0064] The third type of connection method is as follows: Figure 5 As shown;

[0065] The support rib 301 extends into the inner cavity 101 and abuts against the surface of the inner wall of the inner cavity 101, with the ends of the support rib 301 spreading out to both sides in the circumferential direction.

[0066] like Figure 6As shown, in this structure, the support rib 301, under static conditions, serves to fix the second support 300. However, when the optical cable is subjected to impact or vibration, due to the rigid structure of the first support 200 and the insertion rib 201, the displacement is the primary mode, causing the cavity 202 of the first support 200 to easily impact and collide with the second support 300, resulting in damage to the second support 300. With this configuration, the rapid deformation of the inner cavity 101 also easily drives the deformation of the support rib 301, allowing the support rib 301 to detach from the inner cavity 101 wall, thus generating... The elastic restoring force can cause the second support 300 to form a displacement in the same direction as the first support 200, thereby avoiding direct collision. However, if the outer end of the support rib 301 is embedded in the inner wall of the sheath layer 100 or inserted into the sheath layer 100, the displacement of the second support 300 will be restricted. When both are made of flexible latex material with an elastic modulus of 0.1 GPa, after the rated impact test, the dB loss of this setting method is reduced by about 7% and 6% respectively compared with the first and second support rib 301 setting methods. It can be seen that the support rib 301 of this setting method can most effectively improve the impact resistance of the optical cable.

[0067] Furthermore, in the test group using flexible latex material with an elastic modulus of 0.1 GPa as the support rib 301, compared with the control group using low-density polyethylene material with an elastic modulus of 0.3 GPa and silicone rubber material with an elastic modulus of 1.2 GPa, the dB loss of this setting method after the rated impact test was reduced by approximately 5% and 19% respectively compared with the first and second support rib 301 setting methods. It can be seen that the material has a relatively significant impact on it. Especially when using high elastic modulus material, due to the difference in the order of force application and deformation displacement distance, the second support type is very likely to be impacted by the first support rib 301.

[0068] Through the above comparison, it can be seen that the optical cable of the present invention can achieve the enhancement of different performance trends by only adjusting the sheath layer 100. In actual use, the sheath layer 100 can be prepared on site by extrusion after the internal structural components are completed to meet the needs of complex on-site conditions.

Claims

1. An optical cable, characterized in that, include: Sheath layer, first support body, second support body, and optical fiber; The sheath layer has a regular polygonal inner cavity, and a first support body is provided in the inner cavity. The first support body is a regular polygon in the cross-section of the optical cable, and its number of sides is equal to the number of sides of the inner cavity and is coaxially arranged with the inner cavity. The outer wall of the first support body is arranged directly opposite to the inner wall of the inner cavity, and the two are separated from each other. On the radial cross-section of the optical cable, the corner of the first support extends outward to form a plug rib, which extends and inserts into the sheath layer. The first support body has a central cavity, which is also a regular polygonal structure with the same number of sides as the inner cavity. The sides of the central cavity are located radially inside the corners of the first support body. The second support is disposed inside the cavity. It is a regular polygon in the cross-section of the optical cable. The number of its sides is equal to the number of sides of the cavity and it is coaxially arranged with the cavity. The outer wall of the second support is disposed directly opposite to the inner wall of the cavity, and the two are separated from each other. The second support body has an optical fiber cavity at the axis of the optical cable, and the optical fiber cavity is filled with optical fiber lines along the axial direction of the optical cable. The corner of the second support on the radial cross section of the optical cable extends outward to form a support rib.

2. The optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.8 to 1.5 GPa.

3. An optical cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The support rib is inserted into the sheath layer, and the outer end of the support rib extends outward to both sides in the circumferential direction.

4. An optical cable according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.05 to 0.10 GPa.

5. An optical cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The inner wall of the cavity is provided with a groove, and the support rib is abutted and embedded in the groove of the inner wall of the sheath layer, and the outer end of the support rib extends outward to both sides in the circumferential direction.

6. An optical cable according to claim 5, characterized in that, The second support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.3 to 0.5 GPa.

7. An optical cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The support rib extends into the inner cavity and abuts against the surface of the inner wall of the inner cavity, with the ends of the support rib spreading out to both sides in the circumferential direction.

8. An optical cable according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second support is made of a material with an elastic modulus of 0.08 to 0.15 GPa.

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