High resolution headline sonar cable
AssigneeHampidjan hf
InventorHjortur Erlendsson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A non-steel headline sonar cable is provided having a strength member (5) and a core (1), the headline sonar cable comprising a length of a core-cable (10), the length of core-cable (10) comprising core (1) as well as comprising at least one fiber-optic conductor (2) that is: (i) disposed in a helical shape; and (ii) completely encased in a solid, flexible material. Also provided is a process for making a headline sonar cable. The headline sonar cable is capable of being wound on a winch under tensions and surging shocks experienced by a fishing trawler and provides high quality data signal transmission and resolution so as to permit use for transmitting data from high-resolution sonars used to monitor fish caught in a fish trawl during operation.
Claims12
A headline sonar cable having a strength member (5) and a core (1), the headline sonar cable comprising a length of a core-cable (10), the length of core-cable (10) comprising core (1) as well as comprising at least one fiber-optic conductor (2) that is:
- (I) disposed in a helical shape;
- and (ii) completely encased in a solid, flexible material,
- wherein the at least one fiber-optic conductor is encased within the solid, flexible material by being sandwiched and/or enclosed between:
- (a) a solid, flexible material layer comprising the surface of the core (1);
- and (b) a solid, flexible material layer comprising a layer (3) that is exterior the surface of core (1), and
- wherein the solid, flexible layer (3) further comprises a thickness measured from the exterior most edge (15) of the at least one fiber-optic conductor (2) to the exterior surface (17) of the solid, flexible layer (3) that, preferably, is at minimum four times, and can be in a range from four times to sixty-six times, the diameter of an optical pipe (22, 22A) of the fiber-optic conductor), the headline sonar cable characterized by the fact that the fiber-optic conductor (2) is helically disposed about the core (1) with a pitch that is in a range of one hundred sixty times to four hundred eighty times;
- and preferably three hundred thirty-six times to four hundred eighty times, the diameter of the fiber-optic conductor's optical pipe.
A process for producing a headline sonar cable, the process having steps of:
- (i) situating in spiraling helical fashion at least one fiber-optic conductor (2) about a core (1) comprising thermoplastic material forming the surface of core (1);
- (ii) next;
- situating additional thermoplastic material (3) about the combination of the core (1) and the fiber-optic conductor (2) that is helically disposed about core (1), so as to entirely encase the fiber-optic conductor within thermoplastic material;
- (iii) next, permitting the thermoplastic materials to set, thereby forming a core-cable (10);
- (iv) next;
- forming a flow shield (4) about the core-cable (10);
- (v) next, forming a hollow braided strength member comprising synthetic material about the core-cable sheathed by the flow shield;
- followed by subjecting the resultant cable to tension, and to heat sufficient to permit permanent deformation of the thermoplastic material comprising layer (3) while not causing failure of the structural integrity of layer (3), while also to permit elongating and compacting said resultant cable and the strength member comprising said resultant cable;
- (vi) next, determining that a desired amount of elongation and compaction of the resultant cable and the strength member comprising said resultant cable has been achieved, followed by cooling the resultant cable to a temperature where the thermoplastic material comprising layer (3) is incapable of being permanently deformed without causing failure of the structural integrity of layer (3), thereby permanently elongating and compacting the strength member as well as the resultant cable and causing the layer (3) in combination with the flow shield to conform to the interior cavity wall of the strength member;
- wherein the process further comprises the step of:
- (vii) encasing the at least one fiber-optic conductor within the solid, flexible material by sandwiching and/or enclosing it between:
- (a) a solid, flexible material layer comprising the surface of the core (1);
- and (b) a solid, flexible material layer comprising the additional thermoplastic material layer (3) that is exterior the surface of core (1), the solid, flexible material layer that comprises the additional thermoplastic material layer (3) further comprising a thickness measured from the exterior most edge (15) of the at least one fiber-optic conductor to the exterior surface (17) of the solid, flexible material layer that comprises the additional thermoplastic material layer (3) that, preferably, is at minimum four times, and can be in a range from four times to sixty-six times, the diameter of an optical pipe (22, 22A) of the fiber-optic conductor, the process further comprising steps of:), helically disposing the fiber-optic conductor (2) about the core (1) with a pitch that is in a range of one hundred sixty times to four hundred eighty times;
- and preferably three hundred thirty-six times to four hundred eighty times, the diameter of the fiber-optic conductor's optical pipe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.