Optical fiber cable constructions and methods and apparatus for fabricating same

Abstract

The present invention discloses several optical fiber cable constructions which basically dispose the optical fibers in a loosely-fitting fashion in respective longitudinal compartments provided by splicing tapes folded or shaped to a designated transverse cross-sectional shape. The loose fitting of the optical fibers overcomes the increased transmission losses and changed transmission bandwidth caused by lateral or compression forces inherently applied to the optical fibers of conventional optical fiber cable constructions. Two methods and apparatus for fabricating these optical fiber cable constructions are disclosed. In one embodiment, an assemblage die is stationary with respect to a rotary cage and a guide plate, whereas in a second embodiment the assemblage die is mounted to rotate with the rotary cage and the guide plate. In both embodiments the tape folding process for accommodating the fibers and the assemblage are achieved in tandem or in one operation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.