Armored Optical Fiber Cable Structure for Easy Sheath Peeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical fiber cables face challenges in easy separation of the sheath from the metallic layer, leading to increased manufacturing costs, complexity, and potential damage to the optical fibers due to inadequate adhesion control and additional materials required for peeling.
Innovation Solution
The optical fiber cable design features a metallic layer with corrugations and a sheath with orthogonal ribs and grooves, minimizing contact area and eliminating the need for adhesion controlling films, allowing easy separation without additional materials or tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an adhesion controlling film or material is applied between the sheath and metallic layer, then the separation between sheath and metallic layer becomes easier, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesion controlling film or material from the cable structure, extracting the problematic element that caused manufacturing complexity. The sheath is designed to be directly applicable to the metallic layer without any intermediate separation layer, eliminating the need for additional manufacturing steps while maintaining ease of separation through proper design of the sheath-metallic layer interface
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides protection for the optical fibers, maintains structural integrity of the cable, and enables easy separation from the metallic layer when needed. By integrating these functions into a single component without requiring additional adhesion controlling films, the patent achieves both protection and ease of separation without increasing manufacturing complexity
2Ease of operation
If an adhesion controlling film or material is applied between the sheath and metallic layer, then the separation process is facilitated, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the adhesion controlling film or material from the cable structure, removing the source of additional manufacturing cost. By designing the sheath to be directly applicable to the metallic layer without intermediate layers, the patent reduces material costs and manufacturing expenses while maintaining the ability to separate the sheath when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adopts a design where the sheath-metallic layer interface is designed for easy separation without requiring expensive adhesion controlling films. The interface is designed to be temporarily bonded during installation but easily separable when maintenance or replacement is needed, eliminating the need for costly permanent bonding materials
3Ease of operation
If the contact area between sheath and metallic layer is minimized, then the adhesion force is reduced and separation becomes easier, but the structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating specific surface features on the sheath and metallic layer interface. The sheath has a smooth inner surface while the metallic layer has a corrugated outer surface, creating localized contact areas that provide sufficient adhesion for structural integrity during installation but allow for easy separation when needed. The corrugations create point contacts rather than continuous contact, balancing strength and separability
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides an optical fiber cable (102) including a plurality of optical transmission elements (104), and a metallic layer (108) surrounding the plurality of optical transmission elements, a sheath (114) directly surrounding the metallic layer, wherein the sheath is at least in partial contact with the metallic layer. Further, the arrangement of the optical fiber cable reduces the contact area between the sheath and the metallic layer, so that the peeling strength required to separate the sheath from the metallic layer is less than 11 Kg/cm. This results in easy access to the plurality of optical transmission elements in the optical fiber cable and makes it easy to separate the sheath from the metallic layer.