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US 7,460,753 B2Granted
Shape-retaining fiber optic cables having limited bend radius
OwnerAnthony Stephen Kewitschinventor
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OwnerAnthony Stephen Kewitschinventor
Estimating the term…
In accordance with this invention, fiber optic cables are provided whose shape may be formed and retained while maintaining a limited bend radius. These features are produced by incorporating a compact compliant internal cable member into the cable structure. The compliant internal member consists not only of the fiber optic cable, but also of ductile and non-ductile elements. The ductile element is advantageously a tube or a wire which readily deforms to retain a given shape, and may be reshaped if desired. The non-ductile element, which resists sharp bending of the cable during shaping, comprises a substantially non-ductile elongated element disposed within the cable and configured to oppose excessively sharp bending along its length. Proper selection of the cross-sections and materials used in these elongated members produces a proper balance between shape retention and bending radius.
An elongated fiber optic conduit structure which can be multiply shaped to follow a desired path while maintaining a minimum bend radius, comprising:
A fiber optic structure shapeable to a selected longitudinal configuration that is limited to a minimum bending radius, comprising, in combination,
A flexible, fiber optic interconnection cable including one or more optical fibers and separate, longitudinally adjacent first and second laterally bendable elements and an element maintaining said elements in transverse proximity and bendable together along their lengths, wherein, under an applied bending force, the first bendable element exerts a responsive spring force in opposition and the second bendable element physically deforms under the applied bending force to the new shape, the second bendable element being of a ductile material and stiffness to provide a holding force opposing the spring force produced by the first bendable element to substantially maintain any new shape having greater than a predetermined minimum bend radius, wherein the interconnection cable further includes ends which are terminated in polished fiber optic connectors including a rigid connector body, having a rigid, longitudinally extended support incorporated therein, the first bendable element being inserted therein to allow optical fibers to pass longitudinally therein, the support preventing excessive bending at the insertion point of the cable into the connector body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.