JPH0353568Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (1) Purpose of the invention [Field of industrial application] The present invention relates to an optical submarine cable, and particularly relates to an optical submarine cable structure for anchoring an optical submarine cable.

[Prior Art] Optical submarine cables have the characteristics of low loss and high capacity communication, and are already in commercial use as international long-distance optical submarine cables.

FIGS. 2a to 2d are cross-sectional views of conventional international optical submarine cables that have already been commercialized or are about to be commercialized soon.

In Figure 2, figure a is made in the UK, figure b is made in the US,
Figure c shows an optical submarine cable made in France, and figure d shows an optical submarine cable made in Japan. 1 is an optical fiber, 2 is a copper tube that normally serves as a power supply path, and 3, 3', and 3'' are tensile strength cables made of piano wire. 4 is polyethylene as an insulator, 5 is a pressure layer consisting of a three-part pipe, and 6 is a sheath.In this way, optical submarine cables that have already been laid or are about to be laid are different depending on each country. The structure is slightly different.

By the way, when it comes to maintaining international optical submarine cables, the cable ship connected closest to the cable failure point is responsible for troubleshooting, and when these four types of cables are laid across the world's oceans. , cable shipping requires skills that can repair all types of cables. Cable repair requires techniques and interconnects for connecting cables to each other, and cable joint boxes are used to connect cables to each other. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a typical conventional cable joint box, in which 10 is a polyethylene molded part, 11 is a water pressure cylinder, 12 is a cable retaining part, and 13 is an optical fiber connection part. In addition, although not shown, a protector for protecting the polyethylene molded portion 10 and a boot for preventing the cable from being bent are attached. The main technologies associated with this are polyethylene molds,
These include tensile strength wire holding structures, optical fiber connections, etc. can be adapted to four types of cables by making the dimensions of the polyethylene mold part the same. Since the dimensions of the optical fibers 1 are the same, it is possible to handle almost all of these by learning the connection technology for one fiber.

However, due to the influence of each country's own development, the dimensions and cross-sectional structure of the tensile strength wire 3 and pressure layer 5 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "tensile strength body") are different.
These cables are supported by unique technology and structure.

Here, we will examine the tensile strength structure of optical submarine cables in the countries mentioned above.

First, the tensile strength that bears the underwater weight of the cable is for two types of piano wires with different wire diameters for the cable made in the UK [Figure 2 a], for the cable made in the United States [Figure 2 b], and for the cable made in France [Figure 2 c]. The piano wire made in Japan [Fig. 2 d] has one type of wire diameter and a wire rod with a fan-shaped cross section. As a result, judging from the cross-sectional shape of the tensile strength members, all models other than those made in Japan are piano wire, and the ones made in Japan are a combination of piano wire and a wire rod with a fan-shaped cross-section.
It can be classified into two types: non-Japanese and Japanese-made.

To hold the tensile strength member in place, use adhesive,
There are two types: caulking and cone.
However, from the viewpoint of mechanical reliability, the cone type is superior.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a conventional cone retaining portion, in which FIG. 4A shows a sectional view, and FIG. 4B shows a sectional view taken along the line A-A'.

1 is an optical fiber, 2 is a copper tube, 3 is a tensile strength wire, 20 is an end plate, 21 is a cone, and 22 is a flange fastened to 20 by bolts (not shown). The tensile strength member is sandwiched between the cone 21 and the end plate 20, and the cone 21 is pushed in with a bolt or hydraulic pressure, and is held on the end plate 20 by frictional force.

As in this example, when the tensile strength body diameter is round and the wire diameter is 1, it can be fastened efficiently, but as shown in Figure 2 a to d, when the tensile strength body is round and has a single wire diameter, it can be fastened efficiently. Since there is only one gap between the cone and the end plate, thin piano wire, etc. will slip and cannot be held in place.

Therefore, there has been a strong desire for an optical submarine cable structure with a retaining section that can efficiently retain optical submarine cables with different tensile strength members, but no such structure has been disclosed so far.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] The present invention has been devised in view of the problems of the conventional technology described above, and it is possible to efficiently hold down optical submarine cables with different tensile strength member structures using a unified structure. The present invention aims to provide an optical submarine cable structure with a fastening section.

(2) Structure of the invention [Means for solving the problem] The feature of the invention is that a thin tensile strength wire is covered in advance with a metal sleeve made of copper, stainless steel, etc. made of a material softer than the material of the tensile strength wire. Later, the wire was caulked to have an outer diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the large tensile strength wire, and then held together by a cone.

[Example] The present invention will be explained in detail below using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of an optical submarine cable with a retaining part according to the present invention.

In addition, in the following explanation, in order to simplify the explanation, an example will be taken where the tensile strength wire has two diameters.
The present invention is not limited to two types, and can be applied to three or more types.

In the figure, 1 is an optical fiber, 20 is an end plate of a retaining part, 21 is a cone, 31 is a thin piano wire (tensile strength wire) with a wire diameter of, for example, 1.5 mm, and 32 is a large diameter piano wire. The metal sleeve 33 has a diameter of, for example, 2.0 mm and is made of a material softer than the material of the piano wires 31 and 32, such as annealed iron, copper, or stainless steel. Here, the metal sleeve, which is a feature of the present invention, differs depending on the length of the cone 21, but for example, the length in the longitudinal direction of the optical submarine cable is approximately
30mm, inner diameter is 1.51mm, outer diameter is 2.01mm,
After inserting it into the thin diameter piano wire 31, it is caulked,
It has approximately the same outer diameter as the large diameter piano wire 32.
Therefore, since the outer diameters of the piano wires 31 and 32 having two types of outer diameters are substantially the same, it is possible to push the cone 21 into the end plate 20 and hold it together at once.

In addition, when the tensile strength body is composed of the tensile strength wire 3 and the pressure layer 5 of the three-part pipe as shown in FIG. If a metal sleeve is inserted and caulked (in general, the wire diameter of the tensile strength wire 3≧thickness of the pressure-resistant layer 5), it can be fastened all at once in the same manner as in FIG. 1 described above.

In FIG. 2d, the explanation has been made using an example in which the pressure-resistant layer 5 is divided into three sector-shaped parts, but the present invention can be applied regardless of the number of divisions. As mentioned above, the present invention allows optical submarine cables with different tensile strength members to be tied together with a unified structure, making it possible to connect to any repeater or casing, improving the degree of freedom in system design. becomes possible.

Moreover, the wire diameters of the piano wires 31 and 32, which serve as tensile strength wires, are not limited to two types, but even if there are three or more types, the metal sleeves 33 described above can be appropriately inserted to make the wire diameters almost the same. Just form it.

(3) Effects of the invention As described above, the present invention uses thin-diameter tensile members so that the wire diameters of the tensile members are almost the same when anchoring an optical submarine cable that has tensile members with multiple wire diameters and thick walls. By inserting a metal sleeve and caulking it, it is possible to easily and easily secure the optical submarine cable all at once, which is highly effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a structural diagram of the optical submarine cable of the retaining part according to the present invention, and is an enlarged sectional view of the main part corresponding to the line aA-A' in Figure 4, and Figures 2 a to d are typical conventional cables. A structural diagram of an optical submarine cable, Figure 3 is a structural diagram of a conventional joint box, Figures 4 a and b are longitudinal cross-sectional views of main parts of a conventional optical submarine cable retaining section, and Figure 4 aA-A FIG. 1...Optical fiber, 2...Copper tube, 3,
3', 3''... Tensile strength wire, 4... Insulating layer, 5...
Pressure-resistant layer, 6...Sheath, 10...Polyethylene mold part, 11...Pressure-resistant cylinder, 12...Cable retaining part, 13...Optical fiber connection part, 20
... End face plate of the retaining part, 21 ... Cone, 22 ...
...Flange, 31...Small diameter piano wire, 32...
Thick diameter piano wire, 33...metal sleeve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In the case where an optical submarine cable having a plurality of tensile strength members with different wire diameters is secured to a retaining section made of another casing, the wire diameter is approximately the same as that of the tensile strength member having the largest wire diameter among the plurality of tensile strength members. A retaining member is characterized in that a metal sleeve made of a material softer than the material of the tensile member is inserted into the outer periphery of the remaining tensile member near the retaining portion and then swaged. optical submarine cable structure.