Flexible Spiral Armor for Fiber Optic Cable Crush Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional armored fiber optic cables with interlocking metallic armor have a large outside diameter and bend radius, making them unsuitable for tight spaces and prone to crushing or cutting, while unarmored cables lack protection against environmental stresses.
Innovation Solution
A fiber optic cable assembly with a non-interlocking spiral armor made from specific chemical compositions, such as C, Mn, P, S, Si, Cr, Ni, N, and Fe, providing a smaller outside diameter and higher flexibility, combined with aramid fibers for strengthening and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional interlocking metallic armor is used, then crush performance is improved, but outside diameter and bend radius become too large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid interlocking metallic armor with a flexible spiral-wound armor layer made of metal strips. This spiral configuration provides crush resistance through its geometric structure while maintaining flexibility and reducing the cable's outside diameter and bend radius, enabling installation in tight spaces
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction combining metal armor strips with polymer jackets and aramid strengthening members. This composite approach achieves both mechanical protection (crush resistance) and flexibility, resolving the contradiction between strength and size
2Strength
If conventional interlocking metallic armor is used, then crush performance is improved, but flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spiral-wound armor layer acts as a flexible protective shell that can bend and conform to installation paths while providing crush resistance. The spiral geometry allows the armor to flex without breaking the interlocking mechanism, maintaining both protection and flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The armor structure transitions from a static rigid interlocking design to a dynamic spiral configuration that can adapt its shape during installation and operation, providing both mechanical strength and operational flexibility
3Volume of moving object
If cable diameter is reduced for space savings, then space efficiency is improved, but protection against mechanical damage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible spiral armor provides a protective shell around the optical fibers, shielding them from mechanical damage while maintaining a compact cable diameter suitable for space-constrained installations
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-layer composite structure including metal armor, polymer jackets, and aramid strengthening members provides enhanced mechanical protection in a compact configuration, protecting fibers from damage despite reduced overall cable size
Data Source
AI summary
The specification relates to a fiber optic cable assembly. The fiber optic cable assembly includes a non-interlocking armor, the non-interlocking armor is a spiral tube having an outside diameter of approximately 1.5 mm-5.5 mm, an inner diameter of approximately 0.75 mm-5.25 mm and a minimum bend radius of approximately 5 mm, the non-interlocking armor being formed from a composition of C, Mn, P, S, Sl, Cr, Ni, and Fe; an inner jacket, the inner jacket having an outside diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the non-interlocking armor; at least one fiber optic fiber; and a strengthening material, the strengthening material being made from aramid fibers and surrounding the at least one fiber optic fiber underneath the inner jacket.