Optical cables with loosely housed optical guides
AssigneeBICC Limited
InventorsNoel S. Dean, Joseph E. G. Chapman, Eric L. Williams
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical cable comprises a plurality of separately formed flexible tubes in each of some or all of which is or are loosely housed at least one optical bundle and/or at least one seprate optical fibre. The plurality of tubes is surrounded by an outer protective sheath in which preferably they are so loosely housed as to permit limited relative movement between the tubes when the optical cable is flexed. Where the optical cable is likely to be subjected to a tensile force, preferably at least one elongate reinforcing member is embedded in or surrounded by the outer protective sheath.
Claims22
An optical cable comprising a plurality of separately formed flexible tubes in at least one of which at least one optical guide comprising at least one optical fibre, which guide as a unit has an overall diameter that is substantially less than the internal diameter of the tube, is so housed that the optical guide as a unit is loose with respect to the tube throughout the whole length of the cable and generally spaced from the tube so that limited relative movement between the optical guide as a unit and the tube can take place at any transverse cross-section of the cable when the cable is flexed and, surrounding the plurality of tubes, an outer protective sheath.
An optical cable comprising a plurality of separately formed flexible tubes in at least one of which at least one optical guide comprising at least one optical fibre, which guide as a unit has an overall diameter that is substantially less than the internal diameter of the tube and is so housed that the optical guide as a unit is loose with respect to the tube throughout the whole length of the cable and generally spaced from the tube so that limited relative movement between the optical guide as a unit and the tube can take place at any transverse cross-section of the cable when the cable is flexed and, surrounding the plurality of tubes, an outer protective sheath, the tubes being so loosely housed in the outer sheath as to permit limited relative movement between the tubes when the optical cable is flexed.
An optical cable comprising a plurality of separately formed flexible tubes in at least one of which at least one optical guide comprising at least one optical fibre, which guide as a unit has an overall diameter that is substantially less than the internal diameter of the tube and is so housed that the optical guide as a unit is loose with respect to the tube throughout the whole length of the cable and generally spaced from the tube so that limited relative movement between the optical guide as a unit and the tube can take place at any transverse cross-section of the cable when the cable is flexed, an outer protective sheath surrounding the plurality of tubes and, embedded in the outer protective sheath, at least one elongate reinforcing member.
An optical cable comprising a plurality of separately formed flexible tubes in at least one of which at least one optical guide comprising at least one optical fibre, which guide as a unit has an overall diameter that is substantially less than the internal diameter of the tube and is so housed that the optical guide as a unit is loose with respect to the tube throughout the whole length of the cable and generally spaced from the tube so that limited relative movement between the optical guide as a unit and the tube can take place at any transverse cross-section of the cable when the cable is flexed, at least one elongate reinforcing member assembled with the plurality of tubes, and, surrounding the plurality of tubes and the reinforcing member or members, an outer protective sheath.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.