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

US8135252B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Draka Comteq B.V. · NL

Inventors

• Bob J. Overton · Lenoir, US
• Wayne Cheatle · Hickory, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 20, 2006
• Grant date: Mar 13, 2012
• Expiry date: Jul 20, 2026

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B6/44384
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

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.