Blowable Fiber Spool Configuration for Duct Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ruggedized optical fiber cables are too heavy and thick to be effectively blown or deployed through ducts between fiber access terminals and customer locations.
Innovation Solution
The development of optical fiber assemblies with a blowable fiber section designed for deployment through ducts and a non-blowable fiber section for connection to terminals, featuring a spool configuration where the blowable section is coiled farther from the rotation axis than the sheathed section.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ruggedized optical fiber cables are used to protect fibers from external loads, then reliability is improved, but the cable becomes too heavy and thick to be blown through ducts
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fiber cable is divided into two distinct sections: a ruggedized non-blowable section with protective sheathing and strength members for reliability, and a lightweight blowable section without protective layers for easy deployment through ducts. This segmentation allows each section to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the cable have different structural properties. The non-blowable section has high strength and protection characteristics where needed (at the access terminal), while the blowable section has low weight and small diameter characteristics where deployment ease is needed (through the duct).
2Reliability
If ruggedized optical fiber cables are used to protect fibers from external loads, then reliability is improved, but the cable becomes too thick to be blown through ducts
Solution Approach 1:
The cable is segmented into a ruggedized non-blowable section with protective sheathing and a lightweight blowable section without protective layers. This segmentation allows the cable to have protection where needed while maintaining a small profile for duct deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable structure varies along its length, with the non-blowable section having thick protective layers for reliability and the blowable section having minimal or no protective layers for small diameter and easy blowing through ducts.
3Ease of operation
If the blowable fiber section is coiled farther from the rotation axis on the spool, then deployment through ducts is enabled, but the spool configuration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber sections are pre-configured on the spool in specific radial positions before deployment. The blowable section is placed farther from the rotation axis while the non-blowable section is placed closer, establishing the correct deployment sequence in advance without requiring complex active control during deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, assemblies and methods for deploying an optical fiber through a duct to a customer premises. A blowable section of the optical fiber is blown through the duct. A non-blowable section of the optical fiber is coupled to a trail end of the duct. The non-blowable section can be terminated with a hardened or ruggedized connector. The optical fiber, including both the blowable and non-blowable sections, can be wound around a spool for easy payout of the blowable section.