Stretchable fiber optic cable
First Claim
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1. A fiber optic cable, comprising:
- a strength member configured to provide tensile strength as well as anti-buckling strength, wherein the strength member is a rod;
tubes, each tube having a cavity, wherein the strength member provides reinforcement to the tubes, wherein the rod is a central strength member and wherein the tubes are wound around the rod in a pattern of reverse-oscillatory winding, wherein the tubes are generally round in cross-section and have an average outer diameter of 3 millimeters or less, wherein the tubes have an average inner diameter of 2 millimeters or less; and
a binder sleeve, wherein the tubes are bound to the central strength member with the binder sleeve that relatively evenly distributes radially inward force to the tubes; and
optical fibers packed into the cavity of each tube such that the optical fibers bend therein, having excess optical fiber length providing a strain window such that the optical fibers experience less than 0.5 dB/km of increased average attenuation at 1310 nanometers wavelength when the cable experiences strain of up to 1% compared to when unstrained.
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Abstract
A fiber optic cable includes a strength member, tubes coupled to the strength member, and optical fibers. The strength member provides tensile and anti-buckling strength. The tubes have a cavity into which the optical fibers are packed. The cable is stretchable in that the optical fibers experience less than 0.5 dB/km of increased average attenuation at 1310 nanometers wavelength when the cable experiences strain of up to 2×10−3.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A fiber optic cable, comprising:
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a strength member configured to provide tensile strength as well as anti-buckling strength, wherein the strength member is a rod; tubes, each tube having a cavity, wherein the strength member provides reinforcement to the tubes, wherein the rod is a central strength member and wherein the tubes are wound around the rod in a pattern of reverse-oscillatory winding, wherein the tubes are generally round in cross-section and have an average outer diameter of 3 millimeters or less, wherein the tubes have an average inner diameter of 2 millimeters or less; and a binder sleeve, wherein the tubes are bound to the central strength member with the binder sleeve that relatively evenly distributes radially inward force to the tubes; and optical fibers packed into the cavity of each tube such that the optical fibers bend therein, having excess optical fiber length providing a strain window such that the optical fibers experience less than 0.5 dB/km of increased average attenuation at 1310 nanometers wavelength when the cable experiences strain of up to 1% compared to when unstrained. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A fiber optic cable, comprising:
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a strength member configured to provide tensile strength as well as anti-buckling strength, wherein the strength member is a rod; tubes formed from polymer, each tube having a cavity, wherein the strength member provides reinforcement to the tubes, wherein the rod is a central strength member and wherein the tubes are wound around the rod in a pattern of reverse-oscillatory winding, wherein the tubes are generally round in cross-section and have an average outer diameter of 3 millimeters or less, and wherein the tubes have an average inner diameter of 2 millimeters or less; a binder sleeve, wherein the tubes are bound to the central strength member with the binder sleeve; and optical fibers packed into the cavity of each tube such that the optical fibers bend therein, wherein the optical fibers have a greater length than the length of the respective tube in which the optical fibers are packed, thereby providing a strain window for the cable and correspondingly increasing the stretch-ability of the cable. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A fiber optic cable, comprising:
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a strength member configured to provide tensile strength as well as anti-buckling strength, wherein the strength member is a rod; tubes formed from polymer, each tube having a cavity, wherein the strength member provides reinforcement to the tubes, wherein the rod is a central strength member and wherein the tubes are wound around the rod in a pattern of reverse-oscillatory winding, wherein the tubes are generally round in cross-section and have an average outer diameter of 3 millimeters or less, and wherein the tubes have an average inner diameter of 2 millimeters or less; and a binder sleeve, wherein the tubes are bound to the central strength member with the binder sleeve, wherein the binder sleeve is primarily formed from a polymer, wherein the binder sleeve is continuous lengthwise and peripherally around the tubes, forming a closed loop for a length of at least 10 meters along the cable, thereby limiting localized stressing of the tubes; optical fibers packed into the cavity of each tube such that the optical fibers bend therein, the optical fibers comprising a glass core, a glass cladding, and a polymeric coating including a softer, stress-isolation layer immediately surrounded by a harder shell; wherein the optical fibers are relatively highly packed into the tubes such that the average length of the optical fibers for a 10 meter long section of the cable is at least 25 millimeters greater than the average length of the tubes in that section, wherein the optical fibers are relatively evenly packed into the tubes, all the optical fibers having almost the exact same length such that for the 10 meter long section of the cable the optical fibers individually differ from the average length of the optical fibers of that section by less than 5 millimeters, whereby the optical fibers experience less than 0.5 dB/km of increased average attenuation at 1310 nanometers wavelength when the cable experiences strain of up to 1% compared to when unstrained. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification