Optical Fiber Ribbon Marking via Translucent Color Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical fiber ribbons face challenges in identifying multiple optical fibers due to limited usable colors, difficulty in distinguishing intermediate colors, and degradation of markings over time, which affects the reliability of fiber identification, especially when the tape material is removed.
Innovation Solution
The optical fiber ribbon features a tape material with translucent color layers and markings provided at consistent positions along the longitudinal direction, using a colorless and transparent tape material, allowing for improved identification and durability of markings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If markings are provided on the surfaces of the tape materials, then identification of optical fiber ribbons is enabled, but the markings deteriorate over time due to temperature and humidity, resulting in degradation of identification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the marking function from the tape material surface and relocates it to the optical fiber surface itself. By providing markings directly on the optical fibers rather than on the tape material, the markings are no longer subjected to deterioration from temperature and humidity affecting the tape material, thus solving the durability problem while maintaining identification reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the tape material is removed to use the individual optical fibers, then the optical fibers can be used separately, but the markings are removed together with the tape material, losing identification information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the markings from the tape material and transfers them to the optical fiber surface. This ensures that when the tape material is removed for using individual optical fibers separately, the markings remain on the fibers themselves, preventing loss of identification information and maintaining both versatility and information retention.
3Quantity of substance
If the positions of the markings are distributed in the longitudinal direction, then markings can be provided on multiple fibers, but the combinations of the markings are difficult to distinguish, degrading the identification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new dimension for marking differentiation by positioning markings at specific longitudinal locations along the optical fibers. Instead of relying solely on lateral distribution, the longitudinal position becomes an additional distinguishing feature, enabling easy visual distinction of marking combinations while identifying multiple fibers simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber ribbon includes: a plurality of optical fibers (1) arranged in parallel; and a tape material (6) covering the plurality of optical fibers (1) into a tape, in which the plurality of optical fibers (1) are coated respectively with translucent color layers (5) of different colors, and in at least two of the plurality of optical fibers, markings (4) for identifying the optical fiber ribbon are provided at a same position in a longitudinal direction of the optical fiber ribbon.