Draka Comteq B.v.

Commscope, Inc of North Carolina

Wayne Cheatle

Bob J Overton

Greg DeChristopher

Brian G Risch

Russell W Gowan

Matthew Galla

Greg Dechristopher

Russel W Gowan

A buffer tube arrangement includes an adhesive material to adhesively bond a water-swellable element to a plurality of optical fibers and/or a buffer tube.

Buffer tube with adhesively coupled optical fibers and/or water-swellable element

An optical-fiber cable includes an adhesive material that adhesively couples a water-swellable element to a plurality of optical fibers.

Optical-fiber cable having optical fibers adhesively coupled to water-swellable element

A buffered optical fiber arrangement that includes a buffer tube in which is provided optical fibers and a texturized yarn coated with a water-swellable material. The filament diameter of the yarn used in the present invention may be between about 5 microns and about 100 microns, more preferably between about 10 and about 60 microns, still more preferably between about 20 and about 40 microns. The linear density, or denier in grams per 9000 meters, of the base yarn may be between about 100 and 1000, more preferably between about 200 and 600, or still more preferably between about 250 and 350. The degree of decrease in length (the 'degree of texturizing') between the perfectly straight filaments before texturizing and the texturized filament may be between 1 percent and 90 percent, more preferably between about 2 percent and 50 percent, or still more preferably between about 5 percent and 25 percent.

Grease-free buffer optical fiber buffer tube construction utilizing a water-swellable, texturized yarn

In a buffer tube arrangement, discrete domains of adhesive material provide adhesive coupling of a water-swellable element and an optical fiber bundle that includes a plurality of optical fibers.

Gel-free buffer tube with adhesively coupled optical element

Disclosed is a fiber optic cable that includes optical fibers and a water-swellable element, such as a powder-free fabric tape, that are enclosed within a buffer tube. Adhesive material, such as discrete domains of adhesive foam, may be optionally employed to provide adhesive coupling of the optical fibers and the water-swellable element.

Fiber optic cable having a water-swellable element

A water-swellable material is included for water-blocking inside a buffer tube in a cable design, and an adhesive material is provided in or on the water-swellable material. The adhesive material may function as a bonding agent between the water-swellable material and the inside wall of a buffer tube, thus providing coupling of the water-swellable material to the buffer tube. In addition, or alternatively, a second adhesive material may be provided for bonding the optical fibers to the water-swellable material. The adhesive materials may be in the form of a bead or beads and may be foamed or unfoamed.

Water-swellable tape, adhesive-backed for coupling when used inside a buffer tube

A foam polymer jacketed rigid strength member for a fiber optic cable is disclosed, as is the method for its production. The foam jacket is made by feeding into an extruder a base polymer material, preferably a resin, such as polypropyene. The base material is melted in the extruder and a blowing agent is admixed. As the mixture exits the extruder, the polymer is expanded into a cellular foam. The polymer is foamed onto a rigid strength member by means of a crosshead. The resulting jacketed rigid strength member demonstrates improved resistance to thermal contractions reducing the contribution of stresses in the fiber optic cable components.

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Hickory, NC, United States of America

Wayne Cheatle