Sumitomo Electric Industries, Limited

Japan National Oil Corporation

Toshio Hagihara

Masayoshi Yamaguchi

An optical fiber cable for towing. An elongated central conductor includes a plurality of spiral grooves in the outer periphery thereof. Optical fibers are mounted within each of these grooves by use of a waterproof compound. An insulating layer covers the central conductor and the optical fibers. An outer conductor formed by a plurality of strands of conducting wire are wound about this insulating layer. A composite tape formed of a copper tape and an insulating tape is then wound about the outer conductor. The copper tape portion of the composite tape is in contact with the wire which forms the outer conductor. An armor layer of wire is wound about this entire structure. This arrangement provides an optical fiber cable with improved strength, ease of manufacture, and improved electromagnetic shielding.

Towing composite coaxial optical cable

An optical connector assembly has a female connector having a recess formed in its front surface, and a male connector having a cavity and having a projection formed on its front surface which is partly or entirely deformable so that the tip of an optical fiber supported by the projection will ensuredly be fitted into the innermost portion of the recess. Incoming/outgoing beam surfaces at the innermost part of the recess and at the tip of the projection are defined by the end faces of optical fibers extending through the female and male connectors. A collimater lens may be provided on the end face of each optical fiber for enlarging the diameter of transmitted beams and for deflecting the beams in parallel, so that transmission loss caused by dust in the water is kept to a minimum level. A device for forming jet streams is provided at the joint surfaces of the male and female connectors which serves to jet water or a detergent stored in a storage chamber to the end faces of both optical fibers and to blow away dust, when the connectors are connected, thereby reducing the transmission loss caused by the dust.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Toshio Hagihara