Fiber optic cable for distributed sensing with rodent resistant components from hardened materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11435539-B2
Application number	US-202016880210-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2020
Priority date	Nov 30, 2017
Publication date	Sep 6, 2022
Grant date	Sep 6, 2022

Abstract

A sensing cable for protection against rodent damage includes an optical component comprising at least one optical fiber, a plurality of armor components embedded in the jacket, and a strength member embedded in the cable jacket, wherein when viewed in cross-section, each component of the plurality of armor components and the strength member surround the optical component with a gap formed between each component of the plurality of armor components and the optical transmission component and the strength member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensing cable comprising:
a cable jacket;
an optical component embedded in the cable jacket;
a plurality of armor components embedded in the cable jacket;
a sensing fiber embedded in the cable jacket;
a first strength member embedded in the cable jacket; and
a second strength member embedded in the cable jacket, wherein each component of the plurality of armor components, the first strength member, and the second strength member surround the optical component with a gap formed between each component of the plurality of armor components, the optical component, the first strength member, and the second strength member;
wherein the plurality of armor components comprises a first armor member and a second armor member that are diametrically opposed to one another when viewed from a preferential bend plane of the cable;
wherein the optical component is a plurality of optical fibers or a buffer tube comprising a plurality of optical fibers; and
wherein the sensing fiber, the first strength member, the second strength member, and optical component are arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the optical component is positioned between the first strength member and the second strength member and the first strength member is positioned between the sensing fiber and the optical component.

2. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the first strength member and the second strength member are a GRP or steel rod.

3. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the armor component comprises a stainless-steel strip embedded in the cable jacket.

4. The sensing cable of claim 3 , wherein the armor component has a thickness greater than 0.17 millimeters.

5. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the cable jacket comprises at least one access feature embedded within the cable jacket to provide access to the optical component by separation of the cable jacket along the at least one access feature.

6. The sensing cable of claim 5 , wherein the cable jacket is made from a first material and the at least one access feature is made from a second material that is different from the first material to provide a discontinuity or weakness within the cable jacket at a location of the at least one access feature.

7. The sensing cable of claim 1 , further comprising an adhesion promoter applied to strengthen a bond between the at least one strength member and the cable jacket.

8. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the cable jacket comprises a material having an acoustic impedance less than 2 MRayl.

9. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the cable jacket comprises a pattern of ridges and valleys mechanically formed into an outer surface of the cable jacket.

10. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the cable jacket has a flat configuration including two flat-sided sections between two arcuate sections.

11. The sensing cable of claim 1 , wherein the gap between the first armor member and the second armor member is greater than or equal to the thickness of each armor member and wherein the gap between the first armor member and the second armor member is less than the width of each armor member.

12. The sensing cable of claim 1 , further comprising a second sensing fiber embedded in the cable jacket, wherein the second sensing fiber is arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the second strength member is positioned between the second sensing fiber and the optical component.

13. The sensing cable of claim 5 , wherein the at least one access feature comprises a first access feature embedded within the cable jacket and arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the sensing fiber is positioned between the first access feature and the first strength member.

14. The sensing cable of claim 1 , further comprising a second sensing fiber, a first access feature, and a second access feature embedded within the cable jacket, wherein the first access feature and the second access feature each provide access to the optical component by separation of the cable jacket along each of the first access feature and the second access feature and wherein the second sensing fiber, the first access feature, and the second access feature are arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the sensing fiber is positioned between the first access feature and the first strength member, the second strength member is positioned between the second sensing fiber and the optical component, and the second sensing fiber is positioned between the second access feature and the second strength member.

15. A method of manufacturing a sensing cable, the method comprising:
extruding a cable jacket to surround an optical component, a plurality of armor components, a sensing fiber, a first strength member, and a second strength member such that the optical component, the plurality of armor components, the sensing fiber, the first strength member, and the second strength member are embedded in the cable jacket, wherein each component of the plurality of armor components, the first strength member, and the second strength member surround the optical component with a gap formed between each component of the plurality of armor components, the sensing fiber, the first strength member, the second strength member, and the optical component;
wherein the plurality of armor components comprises a first armor member and a second armor member that are diametrically opposed to one another when viewed from a preferential bend plane of the cable;
wherein the optical component is a plurality of optical fibers or a buffer tube comprising a plurality of optical fibers; and
wherein the sensing fiber, the first strength member, the second strength member, and optical component are arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the optical component is positioned between the first strength member and the second strength member and the first strength member is positioned between the sensing fiber and the optical component.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the armor component comprises a stainless-steel strip embedded in the cable jacket.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the armor component has a thickness greater than 0.17 millimeters.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
embedding at least one access feature within the cable jacket to provide access to the optical component by separation of the cable jacket along the at least one access feature.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising the step of forming a pattern of ridges and valleys into an outer surface of the cable jacket.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the cable jacket comprises a material having an acoustic impedance less than 2 MRayl.

21. The method of claim 15 , wherein extruding further comprises extruding the cable jacket to also surround a second sensing fiber such that the second sensing fiber is embedded in the cable jacket, wherein the second sensing fiber is arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the second strength member is positioned between the second sensing fiber and the optical component.

22. The method of claim 18 , wherein the at least one access feature comprises a first access feature embedded within the cable jacket and arranged on the preferential bend plane such that the sensing fiber is positioned between the first access feature and the first strength member.

23. The method of claim 15 , wherein extruding further comprises extruding the cable jacket to also surround a

Assignees

• Corning Res & Dev Corp

Inventors

• Abernathy George Cornelius
• Gimblet Michael John
• Keisler Corey Scott
• Lail Jason Clay
• Register Iii James Arthur

Classifications

• G02B6/4432 Primary

  with fibre reinforcements · CPC title

• G02B6/4415 Primary

  Cables for special applications (G02B6/4429, G02B6/4439, G02B6/4479 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01L1/242

  the material being an optical fibre · CPC title

• G02B6/4434

  Central member to take up tensile loads · CPC title

• G02B6/4495

  Physics · mapped topic