Optical waveguides – Accessories – Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
Patent
1998-05-21
2000-08-29
Lee, John D.
Optical waveguides
Accessories
Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
G02B 636
Patent
active
061120065
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to arrangements for splicing optical fibre cables together and more particularly to splice enclosures for optical fibre cables.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Hitherto, it has been the usual practice for an optical fibre distribution network to consist of a branching arrangement, in which a cable runs from an exchange to a node at which it branches, each branch cable runs to another node at which it in turn branches, and so on. At each node, one or more incoming cables are connected via splitters to a plurality of outgoing cables. These branching network arrangements suffer a number of disadvantages, including the fact that they requires a large number of splitters, which are expensive, and the enclosures required at each node are complex: moreover, the procedures which have to be carried out when splicing cables together are complicated and time consuming, involving preparation of the cable ends, assembly of each cable to a manifold of the enclosure, insertion of each fibre through a feed tube, insertion of each fibre and its feed tube into a splice storage tray, and splicing the fibres together.
A more recently introduced distribution arrangement consists of a network of continuous rings of optical fibre cable, adjacent rings being interconnected. This arrangement provides the advantage that, in order to connect each customer to the network, only a short run of cable is needed from the ring to the customer's premises. Also, the network can be extended easily, to accommodate new customers, by adding additional rings. To-date, such ring network arrangements have used splice enclosures of the types previously designed and used for the above-described branching network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have now devised splicing arrangements which are particularly suited to use in ring networks, involving simplified and less time-consuming installation procedures.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a splice enclosure for optical fibre cables, comprising a base having at least one port to receive a folded-over loop or bight of a main optical fibre cable, and a plurality of trays or other storage supports to receive loops or bights of individual fibres of said cable, said storage supports also being arranged to accommodate splices between said fibres and the fibres of additional cables.
Preferably the enclosure is arranged for the additional cables, typically running to local customers, to enter and leave the enclosure through its base, preferably through one or more ports separate from the port for the loop or bight of the main cable.
In use of this enclosure, when a ring of the main distribution cable is being or has been laid, the enclosure may be installed at any desired point around the ring. In doing this, the main cable is folded, at the desired point, into a loop or bight, its outer layers being cut away over at least a central part of that bight to expose the individual fibres. The bight of cable is then positioned to extend through the enclosure base, and the loops or bights of the individual fibres are assembled to the trays or other individual storage supports. It will be appreciated that this procedure has not required any of the fibres to be cut or spliced and the ring has remained intact for all fibres of the main cable. The arrangement can be left in this condition until it is required to run additional cables from the enclosure to individual customers: at such time, a selected fibre of the main cable is cut, at a point within its respective tray, and its two cut ends are spliced to respective fibres of the additional cable, which is installed so as to run to an individual customer's premises at which the two fibres are connected together and also a coupling is made to the customer's equipment. The additional or "drop" cable therefore effectively completes the ring, between the cut ends of the fibre of the main cable.
It will accordingly be appreciated that, when laying a main cable, it is relatively straightforwa
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patent: 4913522 (1990-04-01), Nolf et al.
patent: 4941720 (1990-07-01), Barwig et al.
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Headley Tim
Lee John D.
Spirent PLC
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