Optical Cable Stranded Micromodules Soft Buffer Tube
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical cable manufacturing techniques require rigid buffer tubes, making it difficult to access optical fibers without specialized tools, and there is a need for an improved method to manufacture optical cables that allow easy access to these fibers.
Innovation Solution
The optical cable design features a buffer tube with a tension at break of less than 7.5 MPa, made from materials like ethylene methyl acrylate with flame retardant properties, and a binder wrapped around elongate members with a tension of less than 2.5 N, allowing easy removal and exposure of optical fibers, along with a stranding apparatus that controls the tensile force and lay length of the binder to prevent deformation and attenuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid buffer tubes are used to protect optical fibers, then fiber protection is improved, but ease of access to fibers deteriorates requiring special tools like knives or scissors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the buffer tube by reducing its tensile strength from conventional rigid materials to soft materials with tensile strength less than 7.5 MPa. This parameter change allows the buffer tube to be easily torn by hand while still providing adequate fiber protection during installation and handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures where the buffer tube is made from soft, low-tensile-strength materials that can be easily separated from the optical fibers. The binder material is also designed as a composite that provides sufficient binding strength during installation but allows easy separation when needed.
2Strength
If binder is wrapped around elongate members with high tension to ensure secure binding, then binding strength is improved, but fiber attenuation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the binder tension parameter to a specific range (0.5-2.5 N) that provides sufficient binding strength to secure the elongate members while remaining low enough to avoid causing attenuation in the optical fibers. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between binding strength and fiber protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by using a binder with moderate tension that is sufficient for the intended purpose but not excessive. The binder provides adequate binding strength without over-compressing the fibers, thus avoiding unnecessary attenuation while maintaining secure positioning.
3Ease of operation
If soft buffer tube material is used to enable easy fiber access, then ease of operation is improved, but tensile strength and kink resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully controls the tensile strength parameter of the buffer tube material to be less than 7.5 MPa, which is sufficient for easy tearing by hand but also provides adequate tensile strength and kink resistance for installation in microducts and resistance to handling stresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the buffer tube as a disposable protective covering that is intentionally made with low tensile strength for easy removal. The tube serves its protective function during installation and is then deliberately torn away, making the low tensile strength characteristic acceptable for the application.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical cable comprises a plurality of elongate members wherein at least one of the elongate members include at least one optical fiber surrounded by buffer tube. The buffer tube is made of a soft material having a tension at break of less than 7.5 MPa. The elongate members are disposed around a central element. A binder is wrapped around the plurality of elongate members. An outer jacket surrounds the plurality of elongate members.