FRP armored optical cable and preparation method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses an FRP armored optical cable, belonging to the field of optoelectronic transmission technology, comprising an optical cable portion having at least one optical fiber unit; and an armor portion disposed around the optical cable portion, the armor portion being integrally formed. The FRP armored optical cable of the present invention directly molds the armor portion around the outer periphery of the optical fiber unit, allowing the armor portion to perform both armoring and outer sheath functions. The FRP armored optical cable of the present invention is simple to prepare and rapidly molded. A reinforcing core is doped within the armor portion, and the ratio of the matrix material to the reinforcing fiber material within the armor portion is limited, preventing rodents from biting through the optical cable and damaging the optical fiber unit within. This ensures the effectiveness and stability of information transmission within the FRP armored optical cable. The cable is small in size, light in weight, and possesses excellent compressive strength, tensile strength, and rodent-proof properties.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of photoelectric transmission, and in particular relates to an FRP armored optical cable and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of fiber-optic communication technology, people have placed increasingly higher demands on information transmission efficiency and stability. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the domestic ecological environment has been greatly improved. In mountainous areas, there are more animals such as squirrels and mice. These animals like to bite cables in mountainous areas, which can easily cause communication interruptions and other problems.

[0003] In order to solve the problem of communication interruption caused by squirrels, rats and other animals biting the cables, rat-proof optical cables have become a common type of optical cable in communication cables. Existing rat-proof optical cables usually have an armored structure on the outside of the cable, which is used to prevent squirrels or rats from biting. Existing armored structures usually use steel wire armor or stainless steel belt armor to prevent rats. Although the anti-rat effect is good, the cost itself is relatively high, and it will greatly increase the weight of the cable itself, increase the cable load, and the metal armor does not have lightning protection performance, so the actual use effect is not ideal. In addition, the existing armored structure optical cables have many processing steps, complex processes, low production efficiency, large cable diameter, and high manufacturing cost. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In response to one or more of the above-mentioned defects or improvement needs in the prior art, the present invention provides an FRP armored optical cable to solve the problem that the armor of the existing optical cable is heavy and inconvenient to use.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an FRP armored optical cable, which comprises

[0006] an optical cable portion having at least one optical fiber unit;

[0007] The armor portion is arranged around the optical cable portion and is integrally formed.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, the optical cable portion further includes a sheath tube, the sheath tube is arranged closely against the inner wall of the armor portion, and the optical fiber unit is located inside the sheath tube.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, a plurality of reinforcing cores are uniformly distributed in the armor portion along the circumference of the optical cable portion, and the spacing between two adjacent reinforcing cores is 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, clamping planes are provided on both sides of the armor part, and an opening part and an extrusion part are respectively provided on both sides of the armor part relative to the clamping plane. The opening part and the extrusion part are arranged opposite to each other, the opening part is located on the outside of the armor part, and the extrusion part is located on the inside of the armor part.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the armor portion is further provided with an opening communicating with the optical cable portion and the outside, and the opening is filled with a cable opening portion.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the armor portion is made of FRP material, and the armor portion includes a base material and a reinforcing fiber material, and the reinforcing fiber material is arranged in the base material in a uniformly doped manner.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the matrix material includes one of epoxy resin, phenolic resin or polyester resin; the reinforcing fiber material includes one of glass fiber, carbon fiber or aramid fiber.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the distance between two adjacent reinforcing fibers in the armor portion is no more than 0.5 mm.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, a rodent repellent is added into the armored portion.

[0016] The present invention also includes a forming process for an FRP armored optical cable, comprising the following steps:

[0017] A pay-off unit is provided to pay-off the optical cable portion, and the reinforcing fiber material is evenly wound on the surface of the optical cable portion;

[0018] Immerse the optical cable portion with the reinforcing fiber material into the matrix material resin, and control the pay-off unit to evenly apply the matrix material resin around the optical cable portion;

[0019] The impregnated optical cable part is introduced into the preforming mold, and the molding equipment is controlled to compact the preforming mold;

[0020] The compacted optical cable part is placed into a forming mold, and the forming mold is heated so that the matrix material resin and the optical cable part are tightly combined to form an FRP armored optical cable.

[0021] The above-mentioned improved technical features can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0022] In general, the above technical solutions conceived by the present invention have the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0023] (1) The FRP armored optical cable of the present invention forms an armored portion on the outer periphery of the optical cable portion in one step, so that the FRP armored optical cable directly assumes the role of armor and sheath through the armor layer. The armor layer itself has better protection than the sheath, can prevent damage by rodents, and can prevent the optical fiber unit accommodating area from being compressed and deformed. The single-layer design makes it thinner, smaller in size, lighter in weight, and significantly improves the compressive and tensile properties of the optical cable.

[0024] (2) The FRP armored optical cable of the present invention greatly improves the water-blocking performance of the optical cable by filling water-blocking powder inside the optical fiber unit, and adds a rodent repellent inside the armor part, which fundamentally avoids the possibility of the FRP armored optical cable being bitten and avoids damage to the FRP armor.

[0025] (3) The FRP armored optical cable of the present invention limits the ratio between the reinforcing fibers and the matrix material so that the spacing between two adjacent reinforcing fibers in the armored portion is smaller than the spacing required for rats to bite. This ensures that when rats bite the FRP armored optical cable, they will inevitably bite the reinforcing fibers, while the rats themselves cannot bite off the reinforcing fibers. This ensures that the FRP armored optical cable will not break directly when bitten, thereby ensuring the reliability of the armored optical cable for signal transmission.

[0026] (4) The molding process of the FRP armored optical cable of the present invention is to mold the armor part directly on the outer periphery of the optical cable part in one step, so that the FRP armored optical cable is molded in one step, omitting the splicing molding of the armor part and the sheath molding on the outer periphery of the armor part of the conventional armored optical cable, thereby greatly saving the preparation time of the optical cable. The optical cable after preparation and molding has a small overall size and light weight, and has good compressive resistance, tensile strength and rodent-proof performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an FRP armored optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an FRP armored optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an FRP armored optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an FRP armored optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an FRP armored optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of one of the FRP armored optical cables in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0033] In all the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same technical features, specifically:

[0034] 1. Armored part; 2. Optical cable part; 3. Strengthening core; 4. Cable opening part;

[0035] 101, opening portion; 102, extrusion portion; 103, auxiliary opening portion;

[0036] 201. Optical fiber unit; 202. Water-blocking powder; 203. Sheath tube. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only intended to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like to indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0039] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0040] In the present invention, unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "connect," "fixed," etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connection, detachable connection, or integration; mechanical connection, electrical connection; direct connection, or indirect connection through an intermediate medium; internal communication between two components, or interaction between two components, unless otherwise specified. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on specific circumstances.

[0041] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, when a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediary. Furthermore, when a first feature is "above," "above," or "above" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. When a first feature is "below," "below," or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a lower level than the second feature.

[0042] Example:

[0043] See also Figures 1 to 6 The FRP armored optical cable in the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an optical cable portion 2 having at least one optical fiber unit 201; an armor portion 1, which is arranged around the optical cable portion 2 and is integrally formed.

[0044] Conventional armored optical cables typically include an optical cable portion 2, an armor portion 1, and an outer sheath disposed on the outer layer of the armor portion 1. The armor portion 1 is usually pre-formed and inherently relatively hard. Furthermore, to ensure rodent resistance, the armor portion 1 must be tightly assembled and requires high fit, resulting in a complex manufacturing process for conventional armored optical cables. The FRP armored optical cable in this application, however, consists of only the optical cable portion 2 and the armor portion 1, resulting in a simpler configuration. Furthermore, the armor portion 1 is disposed directly on the outside, which prevents the armor portion 1 from unraveling or loosening after the conventional outer sheath is bitten through.

[0045] When armor 1 is used to protect optical cable 2, cable 2 itself can be a rod-shaped structure formed by bonding multiple loose optical fiber units 201 with resin. Optical fiber units 201 can be single-mode or multimode optical fibers. The rigid protective structure formed by armor 1 also forms a tubular structure with good pressure resistance. The rod-shaped optical cable 2 is directly molded within armor 1. Alternatively, optical cable 2 can be blown onto armor 1, requiring a sleeve structure to encase the optical fiber units 201.

[0046] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical cable portion 2 in the present application also includes a sheath tube 203, which is arranged close to the inner wall of the armor portion 1, and the optical fiber unit 201 is arranged in the sheath tube 203. When the accommodation space for the optical cable portion 2 is formed in the armor portion 1, the optical fiber unit 201 cannot completely fill the accommodation space, and some gaps need to be reserved to facilitate the subsequent branching operation, which enables the inner wall of the armor portion 1 to be formed into a tubular structure without support, greatly improving the requirements of the molding process of the armor portion 1. The present application arranges the sheath tube 203 on the outside of the optical fiber unit 201, and then directly molds the armor portion 1 outside the sheath tube 203, so that the armor portion 1 is directly molded outside the sheath tube 203.

[0047] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a water-blocking powder 202 is filled between the sheath tube 203 and the optical fiber unit 201. The water-blocking powder 202 is primarily used to waterproof the fully dry optical cable. As an optional embodiment, a water-blocking yarn can also be placed between the sheath tube 203 and the optical fiber unit 201, or a water-blocking tape can be wrapped around the outside of the optical fiber unit 201 for waterproofing.

[0048] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical cable portion 2 in this application is a butterfly cable, and the armor portion 1 is arranged closely to the butterfly cable; a reinforcing core 3 is provided within the butterfly portions at both ends of the butterfly cable, and the optical fiber unit 201 is located between the two butterfly portions. When targeting a single user, there is no need to install too many optical fiber units 201 within the FRP armored optical cable; a single optical fiber unit 201 can be installed within the armor portion 1. A single optical fiber unit 201 does not need to consider bifurcation issues, and the butterfly cable configuration provides secondary protection within the armor portion 1. Even if the armor portion 1 is bitten through, the butterfly sheath can protect the optical fiber unit 201 and prevent it from being bitten.

[0049] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, multiple reinforcing cores 3 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the optical cable portion 2 within the armor portion 1 of the present application, and the spacing between two adjacent reinforcing cores 3 is between 0.1 and 0.5 mm. When using FRP armor for rodent protection, the FRP armor itself only has good hardness and toughness. During the long-term biting process of rodents, the internal optical fiber unit 201 may still be exposed or the entire optical cable may be broken. To this end, we set a reinforcing core 3 structure inside the armor portion 1, and the minimum spacing between the reinforcing core 3 structures is between 0.1 and 0.5 mm. The typical biting distance of rodents is between 2 and 10 mm. The arrangement of the reinforcing cores 3 ensures that when a rodent bites the optical cable, it will bite at least one reinforcing core 3. The reinforcing core 3 serves as support inside the FRP armor, which can greatly reduce the probability of the optical cable being bitten or damaging the optical fiber unit 201, ensuring the stability of the optical cable signal transmission. Secondly, the reinforcing core 3 is preferably made of one of steel wire, steel stranded wire, or metal rod to ensure effective protection against rodents.

[0050] Furthermore, if Figure 5 As shown, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the armored portion 1 in this application is provided with clamping planes on both sides, and the armored portion 1 is provided with an opening portion 101 and an extrusion portion 102 on both sides relative to the clamping plane, respectively. The opening portion 101 and the extrusion portion 102 are respectively provided at both ends of the armored portion 1, and the opening portion 101 is located on the outside of the armored portion 1, and the extrusion portion 102 is located on the inside of the armored portion 1. During the molding process of the armored optical cable, since the hard armor layer is directly formed by FRP on the outside of the armored optical cable, the armored optical cable has better protection capabilities. However, similarly, due to the high hardness of the armored optical cable itself, it is difficult to open the armored optical cable, and the optical fiber unit 201 inside it is difficult to remove, which is not convenient for the divergence work. Therefore, clamping planes are provided on both sides of the armored portion 1, and an opening portion 101 and an extrusion portion 102 are respectively provided on the other two sides opposite to the two clamping planes. The opening portion 101 and the extrusion portion 102 are V-shaped as a whole, and the V-shaped opening direction is consistent. When the armored optical cable is opened, by squeezing the clamping planes on both sides, the extrusion portion 102 is concave inward and the opening portion 101 is expanded outward, thereby achieving the purpose of tearing the armored portion 1 open, so as to facilitate the removal of the internal optical fiber unit 201.

[0051] Preferably, in order to facilitate the tearing of the opening portion 101 on the armor portion 1, an auxiliary opening portion 103 is further provided on the inner side of the armor portion 1. The auxiliary opening portion 103 is arranged opposite to the opening portion 101 and is in an inverted V shape, so that when the armored optical cable is opened, the auxiliary opening portion 103 is concave inward like the extrusion portion 102, thereby expanding the opening portion 101 to improve the opening efficiency.

[0052] Furthermore, if Figure 6As shown, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the armored portion 1 in this application is also provided with an opening that connects the optical cable portion 2 with the outside, and the opening is filled with a cable opening portion 4. The cable opening portion 4 is made of ordinary sheath material, mainly made of polyethylene. The cable opening portion 4 is set in a crescent shape, and the two ends of the crescent are respectively embedded in the armored portion 1, and part of the end face of the cable opening portion 4 is filled in the opening, so that when the staff is stripping the FRP armored optical cable, they can directly break the cable opening portion 4 and lead the internal optical fiber unit out of the opening. When the cable opening portion 4 is provided on the armored portion 1, it is only necessary to use a special mold design during the molding process of the armored portion 1 and add an additional extruder to extrude the material into the molding area of ​​the cable opening portion 4 to form a structure in which the armored portion 1 and the cable opening portion 4 cooperate with each other to form an external protection.

[0053] Preferably, since the cable opening 4 is inherently weaker than the armor 1, to prevent rodents from chewing through the cable, the cable opening 4 can be strengthened by adding a rodent repellent or by adding appropriate reinforcement structures. Secondly, the opening in the armor 1 is small, with a minimum spacing of 1 mm. This is primarily for opening purposes and does not affect the overall strength of the FRP armored cable during actual use. Furthermore, rodents will have difficulty chewing through the entire cable through the opening.

[0054] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the armored portion 1 in the present application is made of FRP material, which includes a matrix material and a reinforcing fiber material, and the reinforcing fiber material is arranged in the matrix material in a doped manner. Preferably, the matrix material is one of epoxy resin, phenolic resin or polyester resin, and the reinforcing fiber material is one of glass fiber, carbon fiber or aramid fiber. The matrix material has good extrusion performance and tensile properties, and after molding, it has good flexibility, light weight, good tensile strength, good resilience and good compatibility with the reinforcing fiber material. The reinforcing fiber can significantly increase the compressive and tensile strength of the matrix material, and the reinforcing fiber is a material that is difficult for rodents to bite or do not like to bite, greatly reducing the probability of the optical cable being bitten.

[0055] Preferably, the ratio of the reinforcing fiber material to the matrix material in the present application is 1:4, and the spacing between two adjacent reinforcing fibers of the armor part 1 is not greater than 0.5 mm. By limiting the ratio between the reinforcing fiber material and the matrix material and uniformly doping the reinforcing fiber material into the matrix material, the spacing between adjacent fibers is not greater than 0.5 mm, so that rats will inevitably bite the reinforcing fiber material when biting. The reinforcing fiber material itself is small in size, and after the rat bites the reinforcing fiber, the reinforcing fiber material will pierce the rat's mouth, and the rat will form a memory after being pierced, thereby reducing the probability of the rat biting the optical cable a second time, so that the probability of the FRP armored optical cable being bitten or broken is greatly reduced.

[0056] Preferably, a rodent repellent is also added to the armored portion 1 in the present application. During the preparation of the armored portion 1, the rodent repellent is added to the base material, so that the probability of the optical cable being bitten by rodents is greatly reduced, thereby avoiding damage to the optical cable.

[0057] Preferably, the FRP armored optical cable in the present application can be used as a cable for laying and can also be used as a unit structure. The FRP armored optical cable is used as an optical fiber unit 201 and is blown or directly pushed into the microtube. When the FRP armor performs different functions, the number of optical fiber units 201, armor thickness, and structural dimensions inside the FRP armor can be adjusted to meet different usage requirements.

[0058] The present invention also includes a forming process for an FRP armored optical cable, which comprises the following steps:

[0059] A pay-off unit is provided to pay-off the optical cable portion 2, and the reinforcing fiber material is evenly wound on the surface of the optical cable portion 2;

[0060] Immerse the optical cable portion 2 with the reinforcing fiber material into the matrix material resin, and control the pay-off unit so that the matrix material resin is evenly applied around the optical cable portion 2;

[0061] The impregnated optical cable portion 2 is introduced into the preforming mold, and the molding equipment is controlled to compact the preforming mold;

[0062] The compacted optical cable portion 2 is placed into a forming mold, and the forming mold is heated so that the matrix material resin and the optical cable portion 2 are tightly combined to form an FRP armored optical cable.

[0063] Furthermore, the optical cable portion 2 also includes the following preparation steps:

[0064] An extruder is provided to extrude a sheath tube 203 outside the bundle of optical fiber units 201 , and the sheath tube 203 with the bundle of optical fiber units 201 is passed through a cooling water tank to obtain the optical cable section 2 with an outer sheath.

[0065] Furthermore, when the armor part 1 is solidified and formed, a reinforcing core 3 may be doped inside the armor part 1. The specific steps are as follows:

[0066] A pay-off unit is set to release the optical fiber unit bundle, and the optical fiber unit bundle is bonded with resin to form a rod-shaped structure. A traction device is used to pull multiple reinforcing cores 3 so that the reinforcing cores 3 are evenly distributed on the periphery of the optical fiber unit bundle. Reinforcing fiber material is evenly wrapped around the optical fiber unit bundle and the reinforcing core 3, and then impregnated into the matrix material resin. The optical fiber unit 201 bundle with reinforcing cores 3 evenly distributed on all sides is passed through a preforming mold, and then the preforming mold is compacted to remove excess matrix material and residual bubbles inside. Then, it is placed in a forming mold of a predetermined structural size according to size requirements, and the forming mold is heated and cured to obtain an FRP armored optical cable.

[0067] The FRP-armored optical cable of the present invention utilizes an armored portion 1 directly molded around the outer periphery of the optical fiber unit 201, allowing the armored portion 1 to function as both armor and outer sheath. This makes the cable simple to manufacture and quick to mold. The resulting FRP-armored optical cable is thinner and lighter than conventional optical cables, and offers enhanced rodent resistance. Furthermore, by incorporating a reinforcing core 3 within the armored portion 1 and limiting the ratio of matrix material to reinforcing fiber within the armored portion 1, rodents are unable to penetrate the cable and damage the optical fiber unit 201 within. This ensures the effectiveness and stability of information transmission within the FRP-armored optical cable. Furthermore, the cable is compact, lightweight, and offers excellent compressive, tensile, and rodent-resistant properties.

[0068] It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An FRP armored optical cable, characterized in that: include: an optical cable portion having at least one optical fiber unit; An armored portion is arranged around the optical cable portion and is integrally formed; a plurality of reinforcing cores are uniformly distributed in the armored portion along the circumference of the optical cable portion, and the spacing between two adjacent reinforcing cores is 0.1~0.5mm; the armored portion is made of FRP material, and the armored portion includes a base material and a reinforcing fiber material, the reinforcing fiber material is uniformly doped in the base material, and the spacing between two adjacent reinforcing fibers in the armored portion is not greater than 0.5mm.

2. The FRP armored optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that The optical cable portion further comprises a sheath tube, which is arranged closely against the inner wall of the armor portion, and the optical fiber unit is located inside the sheath tube.

3. The FRP armored optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that Clamping planes are provided on both sides of the armor part, and an opening part and an extrusion part are respectively provided on both sides of the armor part relative to the clamping plane. The opening part and the extrusion part are arranged opposite to each other, the opening part is located on the outside of the armor part, and the extrusion part is located on the inside of the armor part.

4. The FRP armored optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that The armor part is further provided with an opening communicating with the optical cable part and the outside, and the opening is filled with a cable opening part.

5. The FRP armored optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that The matrix material includes one of epoxy resin, phenolic resin or polyester resin; the reinforcing fiber material includes one of glass fiber, carbon fiber or aramid fiber.

6. The FRP armored optical cable according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: A rodent repellent is added into the armored portion.

7. A molding process for an FRP armored optical cable, for preparing the FRP armored optical cable as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The steps include: A pay-off unit is provided to pay-off the optical cable portion, and the reinforcing fiber material is evenly wound on the surface of the optical cable portion; Immerse the optical cable portion with the reinforcing fiber material into the matrix material resin, and control the pay-off unit to evenly apply the matrix material resin around the optical cable portion; The impregnated optical cable part is introduced into the preforming mold, and the molding equipment is controlled to compact the preforming mold; The compacted optical cable part is placed into a forming mold, and the forming mold is heated so that the matrix material resin and the optical cable part are tightly combined to form an FRP armored optical cable.

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