Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-26
2003-09-16
Nguyen, Chau N. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Combined
Reexamination Certificate
active
06621006
ABSTRACT:
REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”
This section is not applicable to this subject matter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
A communication cable as used in television, telephone, internet, fax, multimedia, and the like comprises a number of individual information transmitting members. These information transmitting members may be a metallic wire such as a copper wire or may be a fiber optic or other suitable transmission members. Again, there are a number of these information transmitting members in the cable.
Sometimes it is necessary to splice a communication cable. The cable may be damaged or broken, and it is necessary to repair the damaged part of the cable. Or, it may be that more information transmitting members are to connect with the cable to go to another destination.
The cable may be an elevated cable such as supported by a pole or a telephone pole. The cable may be fifteen to thirty feet off of the ground. Or, the cable may be a buried cable.
The communication cable as manufactured has a protective outer sheet of material. With damage to the communication cable and to the information transmitting members this outer protective sheet may be broken and therefore it is possible for extraneous material such as water, snow, dust, and dirt to work into the interior of the communication cable and maybe even into the individual information transmitting members so as to interfere with the transmission of information by the cable.
The severed information transmitting members are spliced together to repair the damage. In practice, and after the communication cable has been repaired, a splice case is positioned around the spliced region of the cable so as to act as a protective outer shield of material in the spliced area. The splice area must be weather proof to rain, snow, hail, freezing weather, a combination of rain and freezing weather, heat, high temperatures, ultraviolet light from the sun, from mechanical stress due to swaying of the cable and the wind blowing against the communication cable, fuel resistant to material such as gasoline, diesel, oil, and kerosene, flame resistant to low temperature flame, and must be resistant to the internal air pressure inside of the cable as the internal pressure inside of the cable is about ten pounds per square inch, PSI.
Further, the splice case must be of such construction that it can be readily assembled in the field. Quite often, in repairing the communication cable it is necessary for the repair person to be elevated off of the ground by fifteen feet or more such as thirty feet. Therefore, the repair person must be able to manipulate the splice case for ease of positioning over the splice in the communication cable. This is also true if the cable is buried underground or in a vault.
The splice case includes a tubular protective case having front and rear end seals. The left and right ends of the tubular protective splice case are configured to form integrally with the front end seal and the rear end seal. There are means for uniting the tubular protective case having front and back covers. In order to protectively seal the protective splice case there is used a sizing tape between the cable and the end seal and a sizing tape between the end seal and the tubular protective case.
The sizing tape may comprise a base of a flexible yieldable sealing material and having on one surface a friction material. The base of the sizing tape should be resilient, foldable, stretchable, deformable, and weather resistant to rain, snow, hail, freezing weather, a combination of rain and freezing weather, heat, and high temperature, ultraviolet light, from mechanical stress due to swaying of the cable and the wind blowing against the communication cable, fuel resistant to material such as gasoline, diesel, oil and kerosene, flame resistant to low temperature flame and resistant to the internal air pressure inside the cable. After the sizing tape has been applied to the front and back covers, the right and left end seals and to the cable the splice case can be closed. Normally, nuts and bolts are used to join the front and back covers of the splice case. In place of nuts and bolts there may be used rivets or other suitable closing means. Sometimes, it is necessary to open the splice case and to perform various operations on the information transmitting members in the cable. The adhesive on the splice case may make it difficult to do a good job in regard to the information transmitting members of the cable. Also, the workman has to be careful in regard to separating the front and back covers and the right and left end seals so as not to damage them. The separation operation can be time consuming and may cause damage to the front and back covers of the splice case.
It is desirable to have a sizing tape which can be used in positioning the cable in the front end seal and in the rear end seal and also for positioning the cable in the tubular protective case and without having the difficulty of working with an adhesive which can adhere to fingers, gloves, clothes, and to the splice case. In some instances it is beneficial to discard the old splice case with the adhesive on its members and the same holds true for discarding the right and left end seals with adhesive on the end seals.
It is desirable to have a sizing tape which has a friction material which does not adhere to the repair person, fingers, gloves, clothes, and to both surfaces of the sizing tape, and to the splice case and which sizing tape can assist in positioning the cable or cables in the front and rear end seals and also for positioning the end seals in the tubular protective splice case. Such a sizing tape has the advantage in that it is easy to separate the tubular protective case into front and back covers and also to remove the front and rear end seals from the tubular protective covers and also to position the cable in the front and rear end seals. There is a saving in time and frustration by the repair person splicing the cable.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
There has been done considerable work in regard to protective splice cases for communication cables and for covering and for protecting the splice in a communication cable.
One of the first patents is U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,681, issuing date of Aug. 22, 1967 of Donald J. Smith, subject applicant. There is a splice case comprising a tubular member
10
and two end seals
12
. The tubular member
10
comprises two half tubular members
14
. The communication cable in the spliced area can be positioned inside of the tubular member
10
. The end seals
12
receive the communication cables
50
and
52
. In order to have a tight seal it is necessary to have a tight seal between the communication cables
50
and
52
and the end seal
12
. The end seal
12
comprises two half tubular members
30
. The two half tubular members
30
can be formed into the tubular member
10
, at the site of usage, for receiving the communication cables
50
and
52
. An artisan can take a pocket knife or similar object and cut along the indicia
36
in the end seals
12
. The end seals
12
are modified to receive the cables
50
and
51
. Then, the tubular member
10
can be positioned around the end seals
12
with the end seals
12
positioning the communication cables
50
and
52
in the splice case. The result is a splice case protecting and covering the splice between two communication cables. Again, nut and bolt combination
22
, securely join together the two half tubular members
14
.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,584, issuing date of Oct. 22, 1996, of Donald J. Smith, subject applicant, relates to a fiber optic closure with a cable adaptor spool. The fiber optic closure or splice case protects and isolates the splice of a fiber optic cable. The patent states: “The cable is prepared before placing the cable in the adaptor spool. The cable is wrapped with several windings of a high coefficient of friction, partially adhesively-backed tape. The adhesive provides a seal
Nguyen Chau N.
Secrest Thomas W.
LandOfFree
Sizing tape for use in a cable splice case does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Sizing tape for use in a cable splice case, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Sizing tape for use in a cable splice case will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3004083