Method of detecting sealing faults in a protective tube for protecting an electrical and/or optical cable, a cable, and an installation for implementing the method
US5238172A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 13, 1992 |
| Grant date | Aug 24, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 13, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/4479
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The method and the corresponding installation detect sealing faults in metal protective tubes for protecting cables having electrical and/or optical conductors, referred to as "protected components", embedded in a sealing material filling the tube. The method consists in priming said sealing material with a detectable "test" gas either prior to or during injection of said material into said tube in a first station for enclosing the protected components inside the tube, and in causing said tube, filled in this way and optionally heated, to advance continuously past a detector, or inside a detection chamber of a second station containing the detector, either directly after the tube has been filled or at a subsequent stage. Application: land or under-sea cables, in particular for monitoring fluid-tight protective microtubes for protecting optical fibers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.