Optical waveguides – With splice
Patent
1990-03-12
1991-09-24
Nimmo, Morris H.
Optical waveguides
With splice
174 88R, 174 92, 29871, 385135, G02B 624
Patent
active
050509454
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention concerns an apparatus and method for splicing light conductors in composite cables, in particular marine cables, and of the type comprising a plurality of power conductors as well as a plurality of light conductors.
Marine cables frequently have rather large dimensions because of a very strong armouring. The armouring is necessary because the cables are adapted to be laid on the sea bed, and it will be appreciated that they may be subjected to very great tensile forces both when being laid and if gripped e.g. by the anchor of a ship.
In a new cable type which, in addition to power conductors, comprises a plurality of light conductors, the cable, like other cables, is spliced at predetermined intervals, and it has been found to be a very difficult job to make a cable splice with sufficient relief for the light conductors without increasing the cable diameter considerably.
Based on purely rational considerations, it might be imagined that the power conductors as well as the light conductors might advantageously be spliced at the same site. This, however, results in an inexpedient cable cross-section in the region of splice, in the form of a large thickening of the cable, which renders it is possible in practice to effect armouring at this site by the usual armouring machine.
Secondly, a great thickening makes it very difficult subsequently to roll up the cable on a drum or rotary disc, adapted for the purpose, so that the cable easily gets tangled, and moreover, rolling-up layer upon layer may result in some bends and thus tensile and compressive stresses on each side of the splice sleeve.
Thirdly, the thickening may cause problems during laying of the cable in the form of difficult or impossible passage through the cable paying machinery of the ship and through possible equipment for ploughing or flushing the cable into the ground.
The GB Patent Application 2 169 093 A discloses a cable assembly which, in addition to pronounced cable components, comprises light conductors and has sleeves for splicing these. These sleeves are provided such that at a given splice site these are able to accommodate one or more loops of optical fibres in the diametrical or transverse direction of the sleeve. Thus, this splicing method requires the existence of a mutual gap between the juxtaposed cables.
It will be appreciated that such a sleeve structure causes an inexpedient increase in the cable cross-section at the splice region in connection with subsequent armouring of the cable.
The object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a composite cable which is adapted to be armoured uninterruptedly along its entire length and thus maintain a sufficient tensile and flexural strength, and the object is moreover to provide a splice sleeve adapted for the method for use in splicing of light conductors so as to provide a composite cable having a compact, substantially cylindrical splice cross-section with a diameter which essentially corresponds to the diameter of the unspliced length of cable.
In the inventive method, the power and light conductor splices are provided mutually offset so as to even out the cable thickening preventing proper continuous armouring. Thus, the cable substantially maintains its dimensions and is thereby suitable for being rolled up, laid and optionally ploughed or flushed into the ground, and the cable has moreover uniform tensile and flexural strengths along its entire length in spite of the splices.
When a composite cable splice sleeve is constructed in accordance with this invention, a cable splice is provided where a cylindrical and minimum splice site cross-section is advantageously obtained so that the above-mentioned armouring, rolling-up and paying-out operations are facilitated.
According to the invention, the light conductor splices are disposed in the peripheral cross-sectional area of the composite cable, where also the splice sites are provided in so-called sections which are removable. This makes the composite cable easy to handle and to service.
The splice sl
REFERENCES:
patent: 3718893 (1973-02-01), Holler
patent: 4699459 (1987-10-01), Priaroggia
patent: 4722588 (1988-02-01), Priaroggia
patent: 4793682 (1988-12-01), Cooper
patent: 4830457 (1989-05-01), Asada et al.
patent: 4833275 (1989-05-01), Fosse et al.
Nimmo Morris H.
NKT A/S
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