Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – With embedded conduit-duct or conductor
Patent
1998-11-06
2000-12-26
Kincaid, Kristine
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
With embedded conduit-duct or conductor
172 72R, 172 96, 172 97, 172 95, 172 88R, H02G 300
Patent
active
06166331&
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the fields of cable branching and methods for the manufacturing of cable branches.
STATE OF THE ART
In some technical applications the need arises to branch main conductors from one main cable to branch conductors in a branch cable.
Such a technical application is found in fibre optic access networks. A multi-fibre cable (the main cable) must pass a number of boxes, so called ONUs (Optical Network Unit) comprising circuitry for approximately 30 subscribers. The ONUs transform the optically transmitted information from the multi-fibre cable to the electrically transmitted (copper cable) information that reaches the subscribers. Thus, for each ONU a cable branch must be arranged. With such a cable branch optical fibres (the main conductors) are branched from the multi-fibre cable to other optical fibres (the branch conductors) in a smaller optical cable (the branch cable) and the smaller optical cable then runs up to the ONU. A maximum of approximately 16 ONUs may be connected to one multi-fibre cable. To avoid high costs for digging when the cables are laid down, it is desirable to be able to determine on site where the cable branches should be placed. Therefore, a reliable and simple form of cable branching, which can also be carried out under field-like conditions is preferred. The alternative is to manufacture the cable branches in a factory in advance, and it is of course difficult to know in advance where the cable branch is best placed, as one cannot know in advance the exact length of the main cable, the digging conditions and the like.
When a cable branch is made, the main conductors to be branched must be cut and in some way released from the main cable, so that they can be spliced with branch conductors belonging to a branch cable. The branch conductors to be spliced with the main conductors are in this situation normally arranged so that they extend a distance from one end of the branch cable, so that more space is achieved for performing the splice. Cable branches also normally comprise different kinds of protection arrangements, against humidity, mechanical strain and the like.
The patent literature contains several examples of cable branches.
In the patent specification EP, A1, 0584600 an example of a cable branch is shown. Two portions, from which the casing has been removed, are arranged on the main cable. At the first of these portions from which the casing has been removed, the main conductors to be branched have been cut and then pulled out at the other portion from which the casing has been removed, and have thus been released from the main cable. These main conductors are spliced with branch conductors extending from the ends of, in this case, two branch conductors. The splices are placed in mechanical protection arrangements. The ends of the cable casing on both sides of the other portion from which the casing has been removed are mechanically connected by means of a beam, and the ends of the two branch conductors are also mechanically connected to the beam. A housing is arranged around the second portion from which the casing has been removed, the beam, the spliced conductors and the branch cable ends. The ends on both sides of the first portion from which the casing has been removed have been connected to a beam and a housing has been arranged also around this portion from which the casing has been removed.
This cable branching has disadvantages. Double sets of beams and housings are needed and therefore also double work. The housing must be manufactured specially and each housing only fits cables of a specific size.
In the patent specification DE, A1, 363 an example of a cable branch is shown. A portion from which the casing has been removed is arranged at the main cable. The portion from which the casing has been removed is arranged in a stretched-out state in a housing. The main conductors have been cut at the portion from which the casing has been removed and thus even been released from the main cable. The cut main conductors have been spliced
REFERENCES:
patent: 2452823 (1948-11-01), Wright
patent: 2462993 (1949-03-01), Peters et al.
patent: 3697670 (1972-10-01), Mitacek
patent: 3875325 (1975-04-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 4137424 (1979-01-01), Hesse et al.
patent: 4152539 (1979-05-01), Charlebois et al.
patent: 4784456 (1988-11-01), Smith
patent: 5306870 (1994-04-01), Abat
Edman Daniel
Liden Lennart
Olofsson Hans
Sjolinder Sven
Tarander Mikael
Kincaid Kristine
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
Walkenhorst W. David
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