Prysmian S.p.a.

Alcatel

Draka Comteq B.v.

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Alcatel Alsthom Compagnie Generale D'electricite

Brian G Risch

Clint Nicholaus Anderson

Ehsan Fallahmohammadi

Jeffrey Scott Barker

John R Sach

Andrea Terry

Nicholas V Nechitailo

Ben H Wells

Michael T Rossi

Ryan Truong

Olivier Tatat

James D Holder

Vladek P Kasperchik

William E Dorogy

Michael J Day

Denise Lorraine Collado

Gavin Lin

Charles Craig Haluzak

Stefan Richter

Don Parris

Olaf Loy Storaasli

Vincent Bourget

Pierre Gaillard

Wayne Cheatle

George J Dallas

Steven Xuefeng Shen

William B Connors

John C Rosko

Raymond G Lovie

J Boyet Stevens

Christopher C Aschoff

Denise Matthews

Jeffrey W Auton

Curtis L Nelson

Geoff Witt

Frank Edwards Davidson

Donald Ray Parris

Erin Jean Bowman

Russell W Gowan

James Leonard Ryan

William Dorogy

Russel W Gowan

An exemplary optical cable includes a first type of ribbon bundles, a second type of ribbon bundles, a third type of ribbon bundles, a plurality of strength rods, and an outer jacket. Each of the first, the second, and third type of ribbon bundles includes a first, a second, a third flexible ribbon with corresponding optical fibers disposed within a ribbon bundle jacket. The first type of ribbon bundles is arranged in an interlocking pattern in a central region of the optical cable. The second type of ribbon bundles and the third type of ribbon bundles are disposed around the first type of ribbon bundles in a peripheral region of the optical cable. The outer jacket is disposed around the second and the third type of ribbon bundles, and the plurality of strength rods being at least partially embedded in the outer jacket, where the cumulative cross-sectional area of all of the strength rods in the cable divided by the cumulative cross-sectional area of all glass parts of the optical fibers in the cable is a first value less than 0.22, and where, at a temperature between −40° C. and 0° C. and at a wavelength of 1550 nm, the attenuation increase of the optical fibers in the cable relative to 25° C. is below 0.15 dB/km.

High fiber density cable with flexible optical fiber ribbons

An optical cable includes a plurality of buffer tubes and an outer jacket surrounding the plurality of buffer tubes. Each of the plurality of buffer tubes includes a buffer tube jacket surrounding a plurality of flexible ribbons. The buffer tube jacket includes a first deformable material that has undergone deformation during formation of the optical cable to conform to an irregular axial cross-sectional shape of each respective plurality of flexible ribbons. Each flexible ribbon includes a plurality of optical fibers and a first longitudinal length. For each flexible ribbon, each optical fiber of the plurality of optical fibers is attached to an adjacent optical fiber of the plurality of optical fibers along a bond region comprising a second longitudinal length that is less than the first longitudinal length. The cable has a fiber density between about 5.0 and about 10 fibers/mm.

High density optical cables

An optical-fiber ribbon having excellent flexibility, strength, and robustness facilitates separation of an optical fiber from the optical-fiber ribbon without damaging the optical fiber's glass core, glass cladding, primary coating, secondary coating, and ink layer, if present.

Flexible optical-fiber ribbon

An optical cable includes a plurality of buffer tubes and an outer jacket surrounding the plurality of buffer tubes. Each of the plurality of buffer tubes includes a buffer tube jacket surrounding a plurality of flexible ribbons. The buffer tube jacket includes a first deformable material that has undergone permanent plastic deformation during formation of the optical cable to conform to an irregular axial cross-sectional shape of each respective plurality of flexible ribbons. Each flexible ribbon includes a plurality of optical fibers and a first longitudinal length. For each flexible ribbon, each optical fiber of the plurality of optical fibers is attached to an adjacent optical fiber of the plurality of optical fibers along a bond region comprising a second longitudinal length that is less than the first longitudinal length.

The present invention relates to an optical fiber ribbon, comprising a plurality of adjacent optical fiber units extending in a longitudinal direction and arranged in parallel forming an optical fiber assembly having a width, each of the optical fiber units comprising either a single fiber or a group of at most three optical fibers, preferably two optical fibers, encapsulated with a matrix material; and a plurality of successive elongated rectilinear beads of a bonding material being arranged along a length of said assembly; each of said plurality of beads being configured to form an elongated bond between two adjacent optical fiber units of the plurality of optical fiber units; wherein a first bead forming a first bond connects a first pair of adjacent optical fiber units while the successive bond formed by the successive bead, connects a further pair of adjacent optical fiber units, wherein at least one optical fiber unit of the further pair differs from the optical fiber units of the first pair; wherein at each longitudinal position of the optical fiber assembly there is at most one bond. The present invention moreover relates to a method of producing such an optical fiber ribbon. A fluorescent tracer is present in the beads.

Optical fiber ribbon and a method and system of producing the same

An optical cable includes a plurality of deformable buffer tubes and an outer jacket surrounding the plurality of deformable buffer tubes. Each deformable buffer tube of the plurality of deformable buffer tubes includes a single flexible ribbon including a plurality of optical fibers. Each deformable buffer tube further includes an axial cross-section of the deformable buffer tube that includes the single flexible ribbon. The axial cross-section comprises an irregular shape.

An optical-fiber ribbon having excellent flexibility, strength, and robustness includes optical fibers having a sacrificial, outer release layer that facilitates separation of an optical fiber from the optical-fiber ribbon without damaging the optical fiber's glass core, glass cladding, primary coating, secondary coating, and ink layer, if present.

A method of producing an optical-fiber ribbon includes applying bonding material to a major surface of an optical-fiber assembly via a dispenser that is revolving around a central axis to bond adjacent optical fibers in the optical-fiber assembly. The method, which facilitates faster line speeds, achieves an optical-fiber ribbon with an adhesive bead that forms a distorted sinusoidal pattern substantially across the width of the optical-fiber assembly.

Optical-fiber ribbon with distorted sinusoidal adhesive pattern and method therefor

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus and method for manufacturing of optical cable buffer tubes using an emulsion lubricant. In an embodiment, an optical cable includes a plurality of buffer tubes. Each buffer tube includes a bundle of optical fibers comprising an outer surface area, a swellable-thread comprising a hydrophilic base material comprising water, and a layer of silicone contacting at least a part of the outer surface area.

Optical cables with lubricated optical fibers and methods of formation thereof

An optical fiber cable includes a plurality of flexible ribbons, a plurality of first bonding regions and a second bonding region. Each of the plurality of flexible ribbons includes a plurality of optical fibers. Adjacent ones of the plurality of optical fibers are attached to each other by one of the plurality of first bonding regions. The second bonding region joins a first one of the plurality of flexible ribbons with a second one of the plurality of flexible ribbons.

Flexible optical fiber ribbons and methods of formation thereof

A cable includes a longitudinal structural element including at least one of an electrical conductor and an optical conductor, and a strain sensor arranged within a bending neutral region of the cable and mechanically coupled with the longitudinal structural element. The strain sensor includes an optical fiber coated with at least one coating layer, a release layer surrounding the coating layer, and a protective layer surrounding the release layer. The release layer includes a material selected from a silicone polymer, a fluoropolymer mixture or an extruded polymer containing a slip agent.

Cable with optical-fiber sensor for measuring strain

The flexible optical-fiber ribbon can be reversibly adapted to both planar and non-planar shapes (e.g., packed via folding or rolling) without damaging the optical-fiber ribbon or its constituent optical fibers.

Growing community of inventors

Granite Falls, NC, United States of America

Brian G Risch