Marking system for an optical cable component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10620395-B2
Application number	US-201816144027-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2018
Priority date	Aug 11, 2015
Publication date	Apr 14, 2020
Grant date	Apr 14, 2020

Abstract

A system and method for marking a moving surface of a fiber optic cable is provided. The system includes a supply of the fiber optic cable, a laser generating device configured to generate a laser beam that forms markings by interacting with the material of the moving surface of the fiber optic cable. The system includes a movement device moving the fiber optic cable through the system at a speed of at least 50 m per minute. The system includes a laser directing device located in the path of the laser beam and configured to change the path of the laser beam to direct the laser beam to a plurality of discrete locations on the moving surface to form a series of marks on the moving surface. The moving surface includes a plurality of tracking indicia to allow the position of the moving surface to be determined.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical cable component, comprising:
a body having an outer surface and an inner surface defining a lumen;
one or more optical transmission elements located within the lumen;
a plurality of tracking indicia spaced from one another along the length of the body, each adjacent pair of tracking indicia defining a label area on the outer surface of the body located between each adjacent pair of tracking indicia, the tracking indicia having a first marking structure formed from a first indicia formation method, wherein the tracking indicia are non-alpha numeric indicia; and
a plurality of label markings formed in each of the label areas, wherein the label markings have a second marking structure formed from a second indicia formation method, wherein the first marking structure is different than the second marking structure and the first indicia formation method is different from the second indicia formation method.

2. The optical cable component of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tracking indicia are inkjet printed indicia and the plurality of label markings are laser formed indicia, wherein the outer surface of the body is and outer surface of one of an outer cable jacket, a buffer tube, a tight buffered optical fiber, an optical fiber micro-module, an optical fiber subunit and a fiber optic ribbon.

3. The optical cable component of claim 2 , wherein the laser formed indicia comprise a plurality of indentations, and further comprising a plurality of inkjet printed dots located within the indentations.

Assignees

• Corning Optical Communications LLC

Inventors

• Carberry Joel Patrick
• Liu Anping
• Mozdy Eric John
• Nayak Barada Kanta

Classifications

• B41M7/00

  After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, {setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock (pre-treatment or treatment during printing B41M5/0011; printers for treating or overcoating copy materials before, during or after printing B41J11/0015)} · CPC title

• G02B6/4482 Primary

  Code or colour marking · CPC title

• B41J3/4073

  Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects (B41J3/283, B41J3/286 take precedence; building up a 3D object using individual droplets from jetting heads B29C64/112) · CPC title

• B41F17/08

  for printing on filamentary or elongated articles, or on articles with cylindrical surfaces · CPC title

• H01B13/348

  using radiant energy, e.g. a laser beam · CPC title