Method of breaking out and terminating fiber optic elements from a multifiber cable

• US 4,626,067 A
• Filed: 07/29/1982
• Issued: 12/02/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Belden Wire & Cable Company, LLC (Belden Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cooper Industries, Inc. (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Watson, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sikes, William L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wise, Robert E.
• Application Number:
  US06/403,095
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• Field of Search: 350/96.20, 350/96.21, 350/96.22
• US Class Current: 385/86
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4439 Auxiliary devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4472 Manifolds

Abstract

Multiple fibers are broken out of multifiber cables and sheathed in tubing segments which permit the sheathed fibers to be terminated as single optical fiber conduits. The cable jacket is cut back exposing a plurality of buffer tube-encased optical fibers. The tubing segments, each having a yarn strengthening member extending from both ends, are slipped onto the buffer tubes leaving a slight discontinuity between the end of the jacket and the inner ends of the tubing segments. The yarn strengthening members are wrapped and glued around the buffer tubes in the discontinuity. At the other end, the optical fibers are terminated in a conventional manner in high performance connectors with the strengthening members firmly attached to the connectors. The strengthening members of the tubing segments, attached at one end to the cable and at the other end to the termination connectors, relieve stress on the optic fibers and provide terminations with substantial pull-out strength.

Claims

1. A method of breaking out individual optical fibers from a multifiber optical cable and connecting each of the optical fibers to a connector, said method comprising the steps of:

removing more than one foot of the multifiber cable jacket from the end of the cable to expose the individual optical fibers,

cutting individual flexible tubing segments to sizes shorter than the exposed length of the individual optical fibers,

folding opposite ends of the strengthening members on the tubing segments back around the ends of the cut tubing segments,

securing the ends of the reinforcing members to opposite ends of the tubing segments,

telescoping each of the tubing segments with the folded back ends of the reinforcing members onto an optical fiber and about its buffer tube,

spacing the inner ends of the telescoped tubing segments from the cut end of the cable jacket to provide a junction region,

detaching the folded back inner ends of the strengthening members from the tubing segments and adhesively securing these inner ends to the buffer tubes of the optical cable at the junction region between the inner ends of the tubing segments and the cut end of the jacket,

covering the adhesively secured ends of the strengthening members and the buffer tubes at the junction region, and

connecting each optical fiber to a connector and adhesively connecting each of the outer ends of the strengthening members, each providing the pull-out strength between the multifiber cable and the respective connectors for each of the optical fibers and with the individual optical fibers each covered by a flexible tubing segment between its connector and the cable.