Stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of optical cables, and discloses a stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable, which comprises a plurality of loose tubes, a central reinforcing member and an outer sheath, and is characterized in that at least one optical fiber is arranged in each loose tube, and the loose tubes are circumferentially distributed outside the central reinforcing member; each loose tube is coated with a stamping-resistant part, and the stamping-resistant parts can buffer impact force and pressure from the outside and can prevent water from penetrating through the wall bodies of the loose tubes from the outer walls of the loose tubes. The optical cable has the main beneficial technical effects that the impact resistance and pressure resistance are higher, the water blocking effect is better, the production speed is higher, the number of fiber cores in the same optical cable can be larger, and the optical cable is suitable for different application scenes.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of optical cable, in particular to a layer-stranded optical cable with anti-impact and anti-pressure. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the prior art, the layer-stranded optical cable is composed of a loose tube, a central strength member and an outer sheath. The loose tube is located outside the central strength member. During cabling, the loose tube is wrapped by polyester yarn to form a cable core. Since the loose tube is soft, the polyester yarn often damages the loose tube when it is wrapped by a machine. In severe cases, the internal optical fiber may be broken, resulting in the optical cable being scrapped. In addition, since the polyester yarn and the loose tube have different expansion and shrinkage properties, the polyester yarn may also damage the loose tube when the temperature changes, causing unpredictable optical fiber communication failure.

[0003] In the prior art, the loose tube of the layer-stranded optical cable is usually identified by using a lead color spectrum or a full color spectrum. In the lead color spectrum, three color combinations are used to distinguish, such as red and green, followed by white or natural color. In this way, the loose tube can be distinguished. The production of loose tubes with different colors requires the replacement of color master batches, which slows down the production speed and causes color differences in the loose tubes, affecting the production speed and quality.

[0004] In the prior art, external impact or pressure is directly transmitted to the loose tube through the outer sheath, causing instability of the optical fiber signal during actual construction and operation. The main problem is that the loose tube is crushed or flattened, causing the optical fiber to be stressed and generating excessive additional attenuation that cannot be naturally recovered. The protection outside the loose tube is only the outer sheath or water-blocking grease filled in the gap between the cable core. The water-blocking grease makes the site environment unclean. Moreover, it may drip at high temperatures and dry out at low temperatures, so the water-blocking effect needs to be improved. SUMMARY

[0005] To solve the above problems, the purpose of the present application is to disclose a layer-stranded optical cable with anti-impact and anti-pressure.

[0006] A layer-stranded optical cable with anti-impact and anti-pressure, comprising a plurality of loose tubes, a central strength member and an outer sheath. Each loose tube has at least one optical fiber inside, and the loose tubes are distributed circumferentially outside the central strength member. Each loose tube is covered with an anti-impact component. The anti-impact component can buffer the impact force and pressure from the outside and prevent water from penetrating the wall of the loose tube from the outer wall of the loose tube. The anti-impact component is one of the following: The first kind: the anti-impact component is composed of a body component. The body component has a gas cavity inside, and the gas cavity is sealed and filled with gas. The material of the body component is plastic. The second kind: the stamping-resistant component is composed of a body component and a plurality of rows of protrusions distributed circumferentially on the outer surface of the body component along the extension direction of the body component, each row of protrusions having a plurality of protruding components, each protruding component having a gas cavity filled with gas inside, or each protruding component being solid; the inner surface of the body component has a receiving hole; the materials of the body component and the protruding components are plastic.

[0007] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable adopts the first kind of stamping-resistant component, and the gas cavities are continuously or discontinuously distributed along the extension direction of the body component.

[0008] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable adopts the first kind of stamping-resistant component, and the gas cavities are continuously or discontinuously distributed along the extension direction of the body component.

[0009] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable adopts the first kind of stamping-resistant component, and the outer edge of the body component has a plurality of radial grooves that do not penetrate the inner edge of the body component, and the separated interior of the body component has a gas cavity.

[0010] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable has outwardly protruding ridges on the body component along the opposite direction of a certain diameter, and the ridges are of an integral structure with the body component.

[0011] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable has upward and downward through holes on the ridges.

[0012] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable adopts the first kind of stamping-resistant component, and has a plurality of transverse grooves along the extension direction of the body component that are discontinuously continuous along the body component; the transverse grooves are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the central axis of the body component; or the transverse grooves are distributed in a spiral manner, the transverse grooves are parallel to each other and inclined to the central axis of the body component; the body component is divided into different parts, and each part has a gas cavity inside.

[0013] The above-mentioned stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is manufactured by the following method: placing the stamping-resistant components with ridges in parallel, combining adjacent stamping-resistant components through adjacent ridges, combining all stamping-resistant components into a row-shaped body, taking a central reinforcing member, surrounding the row-shaped body around the central reinforcing member, and splicing the leftmost and rightmost sides of the row-shaped body into one, forming a cable core, and coating the cable core with an outer sheath to form a layer-stranded optical cable.

[0014] The application has the following main beneficial technical effects: stronger impact resistance and pressure resistance, better water blocking effect, faster production speed, larger number of fiber cores in the same optical cable, and suitability for different application scenarios. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 1.

[0016] Figure 2 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 2.

[0017] Figure 3 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube for implementing Figure 2 A sectional view after cutting off the right part.

[0018] Figure 4 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube for implementing

[0019] Figure 5 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 3.

[0020] Figure 6 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube for implementing Figure 5 An enlarged sectional view.

[0021] Figure 7 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 4.

[0022] Figure 8 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube for implementing Figure 7 An enlarged sectional view.

[0023] Figure 9 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 5.

[0024] Figure 10 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 6.

[0025] Figure 11 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube for implementing Figure 10 An enlarged plan view.

[0026] Figure 12 A plan view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 7.

[0027] Figure 13 A sectional view of a part of the impact-resistant component and the loose tube after dissection for implementing the impact-resistant component and the loose tube used in Example 8.

[0028] Figure 14 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of a section of the stamping-resistant component used in Example 9.

[0029] Figure 15 for Figure 14 Enlarged cross-sectional structural diagram.

[0030] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the stamping-resistant components used in Implementation Example 10 after assembly.

[0031] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure for implementing Example 10. Detailed Implementation

[0032] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement this patent, the markings in the accompanying drawings are explained in detail below.

[0033] In the figure: 1—optical fiber, 2—loose tube, 3—impact resistant component, 4—central reinforcement, 5—outer sheath, 30—accommodating hole, 31—body component, 32—gas cavity, 33—radial groove, 34—protrusion, 35—through hole, 36—transverse groove, 37—protruding component.

[0034] Implementation Example 1: Please see Figure 1 and refer to Figure 4 A shock-resistant stranded optical cable includes multiple loose tubes 2, a central reinforcing member 4, and an outer sheath 5. Each loose tube contains at least one optical fiber 1, and the loose tubes are circumferentially distributed outside the central reinforcing member. Each loose tube is covered with a shock-resistant member 3, which can buffer the impact and pressure from the outside and prevent water from penetrating the wall of the loose tube from the outer wall.

[0035] The aforementioned shock-resistant stranded optical cable has a shock-resistant component consisting of a body component made of plastic. The body component has a gas cavity inside, which is sealed and filled with gas. The gas cavity is continuously distributed along the extension direction of the body component.

[0036] The aforementioned shock-resistant stranded optical cable has at least two gas cavities, which are not interconnected. The gas cavities may be parallel to the axis of the main body component or may be distributed in a spiral manner relative to the axis of the main body component.

[0037] Implementation Example 2: Please see Figure 2 and Figure 3 and refer to Figure 1 and Figure 4A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is basically the same as that of Embodiment 1, except that the gas cavity 32 is discontinuously distributed along the extension direction of the body member 31.

[0038] Embodiment 3: see Figure 4 and refer to Figure 1 and Figure 6 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is basically the same as that of Embodiment 1, except that the body member 31 has three radial grooves 33 on the outer edge thereof, the radial grooves are not through the inner edge of the body member, and the body member has a gas cavity inside.

[0039] Embodiment 4: see Figure 7 and Figure 8 and refer to Figures 1 to 6 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is basically the same as that of Embodiment 3, except that the body member 31 has four radial grooves 33 on the outer edge thereof, and a pair of outwardly protruding protrusions 34 are formed on the body members in opposite directions, i.e., left and right in the figure, and the protrusions are integrally formed with the body members.

[0040] In this application, the number of radial grooves in Embodiments 3 and 4 is not limited to three and four, but can be other numbers, and preferably, the radial grooves are distributed at equally divided positions along the circumferential direction of the body member; of course, the embodiment of multiple radial grooves can be used in any of the following embodiments.

[0041] Embodiment 5: see Figure 9 and refer to Figures 1 to 8 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is basically the same as that of Embodiment 4, except that the protrusions 34 have through holes 35 that pass through the protrusions in the up-down direction.

[0042] Embodiment 6: see Figure 10 and Figure 11 and refer to Figures 1 to 9 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is basically the same as that of Embodiment 5, except that it does not have radial grooves, and has multiple transverse grooves 36 that are discontinuously distributed along the extension direction of the body member 31; the transverse grooves are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the central axis of the body member.

[0043] Embodiment 7: see Figure 12 and refer to Figures 1 to 11 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable is basically the same as that of Embodiment 6, except that the transverse grooves 36 are distributed in a spiral manner, and the transverse grooves are parallel to each other and inclined to the central axis of the body member.

[0044] Embodiment 8: see Figure 13 and refer to Figures 1 to 12A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable, referring to the combination of Embodiment 3 and Embodiment 6, the difference is that it has both the radial grooves 33 of Embodiment 3 and the transverse grooves 36 of Embodiment 6; the body part 31 is divided into different parts, each part has a gas cavity inside.

[0045] Of course, the transverse grooves 36 in this embodiment can also be in the manner of Embodiment 7.

[0046] Embodiment 9: see Figure 14 and Figure 15 and refer to Figures 1 to 13 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable, on the outer surface of the body part 31 of the stamping-resistant part 3, there are multiple rows of convex parts 37 distributed circumferentially along the extension direction of the body part 31; the rows can be parallel or all helical in the same direction; the body part 31 has a receiving hole 30 inside its inner surface.

[0047] As shown in Figure 15 , in this embodiment, the outer surfaces of all the convex parts 37 are on the same cylindrical surface; this can make the optical cable structure more stable and tightly adhere to the inner wall of the outer jacket.

[0048] The convex parts are not limited to the cylindrical structure in the figure, and can also be other shapes, such as inverted truncated cone, etc., i.e., the diameter at the body part is smaller and the diameter away from the body part is larger; etc., other suitable shapes.

[0049] Embodiment 10: see Figure 16 and Figure 17 and refer to Figures 1 to 15 A stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable, the stamping-resistant parts 3 with convex strips 34 are placed in parallel, adjacent stamping-resistant parts 3 are combined through adjacent convex strips 34, all the stamping-resistant parts 3 are combined into a row-shaped body, the center strength member 4 is taken, the row-shaped body is wrapped around the center strength member 4, and the leftmost and rightmost sides of the row-shaped body are spliced into one, forming a cable core, and the outer jacket 5 is coated outside the cable core to form a layer-stranded optical cable.

[0050] The stamping-resistant layer-stranded optical cable described in this application realizes the improvement of stamping resistance. In one type of embodiment, because the body part has a gas cavity inside, the gas cavity is sealed and filled with gas, and when an external force impacts or presses, it can achieve buffering, so the stamping resistance can be effectively improved. In another type of embodiment, because the body part can be solid, it has high elasticity and toughness, and when an external force impacts or presses, it will not pierce the outer jacket, and at the same time it can achieve buffering, so the stamping resistance can be effectively improved.

[0051] In this application, the impact-resistant component can be in the form of an unfolded part, which is then wrapped around the loose sleeve and glued together at the overlap; or it can be integrally formed and fitted over the loose sleeve through the receiving hole 30, with the main body component being elastic and able to tightly fit the loose sleeve.

[0052] In this application, another function of the impact-resistant component is to protect the loose sleeve and prevent water from penetrating the wall of the loose sleeve.

[0053] In this application, the stamping-resistant parts can be made in different colors, so the loose sleeves can be made in the same color, such as the natural color, which makes them easy to identify. At the same time, since only single-color loose sleeves need to be produced, there is no need to add or change color masterbatch to the loose sleeve material during production, which will not cause problems such as slowing down the production speed or color difference of the loose sleeves.

[0054] In Implementation Example 10 of this application, the method is not limited to five loose tubes; it can also include other loose tubes of at least three lengths, which are first arranged in a row. Furthermore, during production, the tubes can be cut to the required quantity. For example, if a row contains 10 loose tubes but only 5 optical cables are needed, it can be cut into two groups. This improves production efficiency and enables flexible application. By combining a large number of loose tubes, the problems associated with purchasing new equipment and upgrading software in the production of high-core-count optical cables in existing technologies are solved. For example, in existing technologies, a common large-core-count structure is 1+6+12, with a central reinforcing member, 6 loose tubes in the middle layer, and 12 loose tubes in the outer layer; another is 1+9+15, with a central reinforcing member, 9 loose tubes in the middle layer, and 15 loose tubes in the outer layer. The former requires no equipment modification because cable-forming machines typically have 12 pay-off frames, and the cable-forming control equipment only has a 12-channel control system; the latter is an improved and upgraded structure. To produce optical cables with even larger core counts, additional pay-off frames and redesigned cable-forming control equipment and software are required, resulting in longer production times, higher costs, larger space requirements, and higher power consumption. In this application, expansion is possible based on demand. During forming, the cable is simply placed in a cylindrical forming mold, stretched forward, and bonded at the joints, either using adhesive or ultrasonic bonding. This implementation eliminates the need to tie the binding yarn to the outside of the loose tubes; the cable core is a single integrated structure.

[0055] In this application, a structure with raised strips is provided, and the through holes on the raised strips reduce material consumption. Because the raised strips are thin and short, and possess flexibility and toughness, their use in optical cables is not affected even if they are not connected to adjacent impact-resistant components.

[0056] In this application, when the main body component is divided into multiple blocks, each block has a gas cavity, which increases reliability and prevents the overall impact resistance from decreasing due to the reduction of gas in a single block. Similarly, multiple rows of convex components in each row play the same role.

[0057] In this application, the presence of the main body components, etc., ensures that even with yarn binding, the loose tube will not be loosened after wrapping, effectively solving the problem in the prior art where the loose tube is damaged during yarn binding production, and the yarn binding damages the loose tube after optical cable forming due to different expansion and contraction.

[0058] The preferred materials for the body components in this application are polyester or rubber, both types of plastics.

[0059] The preferred inflation rate of the gas cavity in this application is 80% to 90%.

[0060] In this application, when the convex component contains a gas cavity, the inflation rate is preferably 80% to 90%.

[0061] The optical fiber in this application is either single-mode or multi-mode optical fiber, and can be either plastic optical fiber or quartz glass optical fiber.

[0062] The loose sleeve in this application is made of polybutylene terephthalate or modified polypropylene.

[0063] The outer sheath in this application is made of plastic.

[0064] The material of the raised strip in this application is plastic.

[0065] The loose tube and impact-resistant component in this application are also suitable for central loose tube type optical cables, that is, a protective layer is wrapped around the impact-resistant component and an outer sheath is wrapped around it; similarly, the fiber ribbon in the loose tube can be replaced with a fiber ribbon, thus forming a stranded ribbon optical cable and a central loose tube type ribbon optical cable.

[0066] The loose tube and impact-resistant component in this application are also suitable for air-blown optical cables. That is, an air-blown optical cable can be constructed with only the loose tube and impact-resistant component. Because it has radial grooves, transverse grooves, etc., it is more suitable for air blowing. The airflow moves forward in the grooves, making air blowing less effort and faster.

[0067] The optical cable in this application is also suitable for special applications, such as floating optical cables in rivers or oceans. Due to the presence of impact-resistant components and gases, the overall density of the optical cable is reduced, which, when sufficient, allows the optical cable to float in fresh or seawater, enabling emergency use.

[0068] The loose sleeve and the impact-resistant component in this application form an integrated structure, which can not only be placed in parallel, but also twisted together and wrapped with yarn on the outside, thus avoiding the problems in the prior art.

[0069] In this application, the impact-resistant component is not a metal part. The impact-resistant component is an integral structure, which effectively avoids the phenomenon of metal parts puncturing the outer sheath. Moreover, the impact-resistant component can quickly restore its original shape after being subjected to impact and pressure.

[0070] This application has the following main beneficial technical effects: stronger impact and pressure resistance, better water blocking effect, faster production speed, can achieve a larger number of fiber cores in the same optical cable, and is suitable for different application scenarios.

[0071] This application can be used as a smart sensor or smart sensing element; since it can transmit voice and images, it can also be used as a physical sensor, such as a voice sensor or an image sensor; since it transmits light signals through the principle of total internal reflection, it can also be used as a distance sensor; the optical fiber in this application is itself an optical waveguide, so it can be used as an optical waveguide, such as an arrayed optical waveguide or a diffractive optical waveguide; this application can also be used in the field of optical computing, as part of optical chip computing, optical computing, optical network computing, and optical computing.

[0072] The above embodiments are merely preferred technical solutions of the present invention and should not be considered as limitations on the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be limited to the technical solutions described in the claims, including equivalent substitutions of the technical features described in the claims. That is, equivalent substitutions and improvements within this scope are also within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A shock-resistant stranded optical cable, comprising multiple loose tubes, a central reinforcing member, and an outer sheath, wherein each loose tube contains at least one optical fiber, and the loose tubes are circumferentially distributed outside the central reinforcing member; characterized in that: Each loose tube is covered with a shock-resistant component, which buffers external impacts and pressures and prevents water from penetrating the wall of the loose tube. The shock-resistant component is one of the following: The first type: The impact-resistant component is composed of a main body component, which has a gas cavity inside, and the gas cavity is sealed and filled with gas; the material of the main body component is plastic. The second type: The impact-resistant component consists of a main body and multiple rows of protrusions circumferentially distributed on the outer surface of the main body along its extension direction. Each row of protrusions contains multiple protruding parts, and each protruding part has a gas cavity filled with gas and sealed inside, or each protruding part is solid. The inner surface of the main body has a receiving hole. The material of both the main body and the protruding parts is plastic.

2. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer edges of the main body component at both ends of one diameter have outward protruding ridges, which are integral with the main body component.

3. A shock-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that: The first type of impact-resistant component is used, and the gas chamber is continuously distributed along the extension direction of the main component.

4. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 3, characterized in that: There are at least two gas cavities, and the two gas cavities are not connected to each other; the gas cavities are parallel to the axis of the main body component, or are distributed in a spiral pattern relative to the axis of the main body component.

5. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 3, characterized in that: The outer edge of the main body component has multiple radial grooves, which do not penetrate the inner edge of the main body component, and the separated interior of the main body component has a gas cavity.

6. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 5, characterized in that: The raised strip has a through hole running vertically through it.

7. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 5, characterized in that: The body component has multiple transverse grooves that extend continuously along the body component, interrupting the continuous extension of the body component; the transverse grooves are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the central axis of the body component; or, the transverse grooves are distributed in a spiral manner, with the transverse grooves being parallel to each other and inclined to the central axis of the body component; the body component is divided into different parts, each of which has a gas cavity inside.

8. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 5, characterized in that: The shock-resistant stranded optical cable is manufactured by the following method: shock-resistant components with raised strips are placed in parallel, adjacent shock-resistant components are joined by adjacent raised strips, all shock-resistant components are joined into a row, a central reinforcing member is taken, the row is surrounded by the central reinforcing member and the leftmost and rightmost parts of the row are spliced ​​together to form a cable core, and an outer sheath is wrapped around the cable core to form a stranded optical cable.

9. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 5, characterized in that: The gas filling rate in the gas cavity inside the convex component is 80% to 90%.

10. The impact-resistant stranded optical cable according to claim 5, characterized in that: The material of the loose sleeve is polybutylene terephthalate or modified polypropylene.

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