US 4,395,869 A · Method and apparatus for making optical fiber cable element

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for forming a cable element comprising a core of plastic material with helical surface grooves containing one or more optical fibers. The core has one or more reinforcing elements resistant to tension and compression and is covered with a covering of tape or thermoplastic. The core is fed to a rigid body having tongues corresponding to and entering into the grooves, and the optical fiber or fibers are fed into the grooves through through-holes in the body which extend from the exterior surface of the body to the tongues and which are inclined with respect to the axis of the core. The core feeding means may be a pay-off bobbin or a core extruder with a threading die, and by increasing the feed rate of the fibers relative to the feed rate of the core or by stretching the core in advance of the rigid body, the lengths of the fibers in the grooves may be longer than the lengths of the grooves.

Claims22

Dependent claims

Method for producing a cable element with optical fibers, said element having a core of a plastic material with at least one longitudinally extending groove in the peripheral surface thereof, at least one element embedded in said core for resisting tension and compression forces applied to said core and at least one longitudinally extending optical fiber in said groove, said method comprising:

longitudinally advancing said core without said fiber in said groove;
engaging the walls of said groove with a rigid body having a lay-down tongue extending into said groove, for establishing between said core and said lay-down tongue, a coupling of screw female-thread type, said tongue having a through-hole with its axis extending at an acute angle to the axis of said core;
and
as said core is advanced, feeding by feeding means at least one optical fiber to said groove respectively through the through-hole of the respective tongues.

1 more element

Apparatus for producing a cable element with optical fibers, said element having a core of a plastic material with at least one longitudinally extending groove in the peripheral surface thereof, at least one element embedded in said core for resisting tension and compression forces applied to said core and at least one longitudinally extending optical fiber in said groove, said apparatus comprising:

a rigid body having an opening for receiving said core, the surface of said body surrounding said opening having one or more lay-down tongues, at least equal in number to the number of grooves, extending radially therefrom and toward the axis of said opening, each of said tongues being disposed so as to be received in a groove, and being suited for engaging with a corresponding groove for establishing, between core and rigid body, a coupling of screws female-thread type, said body also having a through-hole therein extending from the outer surface of said body to the innermost surface of each tongue, each through-hole having its axis inclined at an acute angle to the axis of said opening so that its exit end at a tongue is spaced longitudinally of the axis of said opening from its inlet end at the outer surface of said body;
feeding means for feeding said core longitudinally through said opening in said body with the inlet end of each through-hole nearer to said feeding means than the exit end of each through-hole and with each tongue in a respective groove in said core;
feeding means for feeding at least one optical fiber to each groove through a respective through-hole from the inlet ends to the exit ends thereof and thereby inserting at least one optical fiber in each groove as the core is fed through said opening;
and
collecting means at the side of said rigid body remote from said feeding means for collecting said core with optical fibers in each groove.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for making optical fiber cable element

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for making optical fiber cable element

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22