Corning Optical Communications LLC

Corning Cable Systems

Kenneth Todd James

James Phillip Luther

William Carl Hurley

Radawan Ripumaree

Xin Liu

Karl M Wagner

Alvin John McDonald

Alvin John Mcdonald

A fiber optic ribbon cable includes a stack of fiber optic ribbons, strength members surrounding the stack, and a jacket defining an exterior of the cable. The jacket forms a cavity through which the stack and the strength members extend. The stack has a bend preference, but the strength members are positioned around the stack or are flexible in bending such that the strength members do not have a bend preference. Furthermore, the jacket is structured such that the jacket does not have a bend preference. The cavity is sized relative to the stack in order to allow the stack to bend and twist within the cavity with respect to the jacket as the cable bends, facilitating movement of the optical fibers of the fiber optic ribbons to low-stress positions within the cavity and decoupling the bend preference of the stack from transfer to the jacket.

Fiber optic ribbon cable

A laser cleaving system includes a laser and a fixture including holders for respectively holding optical fiber ribbons at different angular positions. The fixture is rotatable relative to the laser for facilitating serial cleaving of the optical fiber ribbons. The fixture is configured for holding the ribbons in a predetermined manner so that the cleaved optical surfaces are of high quality and coplanar, such as when installed in a ferrule. For example, the fixture separates the ends of the ribbons from one another so that the ribbons being held by the fixture may be cleaved substantially independently from one another.

Laser cleaving multi-row ribbon fibers

A fiber optic ribbon cable includes a fiber optic ribbon or stack of ribbons, strength members surrounding the ribbon or stack, and a jacket defining an exterior of the cable. The jacket forms a cavity through which the strength members and the ribbon or stack extend. The ribbon or stack has a bend preference, but the strength members are flexible and do not have a bend preference. Furthermore, the jacket is structured such that the jacket does not have a bend preference. The cavity is sized relative to the ribbon or stack in order to allow the same to bend and twist within the cavity with respect to the jacket as the cable bends, facilitating movement of the corresponding optical fibers to low-stress positions within the cavity and decoupling the bend preference of the ribbon or stack from transfer to the jacket.

This invention provides an apparatus and method for a high performance, flexible optical fiber furcation assembly that minimizes bending in the optical fibers throughout the life of the furcation assembly. The furcation assembly includes a flexible furcation body having a passageway with a first end and an opposed second end, the first end for receiving a fiber optic cable and the second end for routing a furcated leg, and holding material for flexibly securing and supporting the fiber optic cable and the furcated leg substantially within the single passageway. A method is provided for applying the furcation assembly to an optical cable. The apparatus and method of this invention apply to a variety of optical cable types.

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Lenoir, NC, United States of America

Kenneth Todd James