Buffer tube with adhesively coupled optical fibers and/or water-swellable element
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
G02B-006/44
출원번호
US-0506533
(2009-07-21)
등록번호
US-8195018
(2012-06-05)
발명자
/ 주소
Overton, Bob J.
Cheatle, Wayne
DeChristopher, Greg
출원인 / 주소
Draka Comteq, B.V.
대리인 / 주소
Summa, Additon & Ashe, P.A.
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
22인용 특허 :
61
초록
A buffer tube arrangement includes an adhesive material to adhesively bond a water-swellable element to a plurality of optical fibers and/or a buffer tube.
대표청구항▼
1. A buffer tube arrangement, comprising: a plurality of optical fibers;a buffer tube enclosing said optical fibers;a water-swellable element disposed between said optical fibers and said buffer tube, said water-swellable element substantially enclosing said optical fibers; andan adhesive material f
1. A buffer tube arrangement, comprising: a plurality of optical fibers;a buffer tube enclosing said optical fibers;a water-swellable element disposed between said optical fibers and said buffer tube, said water-swellable element substantially enclosing said optical fibers; andan adhesive material for bonding said water-swellable element to said optical fibers without requiring frictional coupling. 2. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material is provided on said optical fibers. 3. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material is provided on said water-swellable element. 4. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material is embedded in said water-swellable element. 5. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material is provided as at least one bead. 6. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material comprises a curable adhesive material. 7. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 6, wherein said curable adhesive material has been cured, and said cured adhesive material bonds said water-swellable element to said optical fibers. 8. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material comprises a thermally curable material. 9. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 8, wherein said adhesive material comprises a silicone. 10. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material comprises a radiation-curable material. 11. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material comprises a hot melt adhesive. 12. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said adhesive material comprises a foamed adhesive material. 13. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 12, wherein said foamed adhesive has a degree of foaming between about 1 percent and 95 percent. 14. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 12, wherein said foamed adhesive material fills between about 1 percent and 100 percent of the free space inside said water-swellable element. 15. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said optical fibers comprise a ribbon stack. 16. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said optical fibers comprise loosely disposed or helically wound optical fibers. 17. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said water-swellable element comprises water-absorbing tape and/or water-absorbing yarn. 18. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said water-swellable element comprises a water-swellable powder sandwiched between two layers. 19. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said water-swellable element is substantially free of superabsorbent particulate powders. 20. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein the buffer tube arrangement does not include an adhesive material for bonding said water-swellable element to said buffer tube. 21. A buffer tube arrangement, comprising: a plurality of optical fibers;a buffer tube enclosing said optical fibers;a water-swellable element disposed between said optical fibers and said buffer tube, said water-swellable element substantially enclosing said optical fibers; andan adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element and said optical fibers, wherein said adhesive material resists movement of said optical fibers relative to said water-swellable element without requiring the application of an external compressive force upon said water-swellable element. 22. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 21, wherein said adhesive material provides the predominant coupling force between said water-swellable element and said optical fibers. 23. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 21, wherein said optical fibers comprise a ribbon stack. 24. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 21, wherein said optical fibers comprise loosely disposed or helically wound optical fibers. 25. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 21, wherein the buffer tube arrangement is essentially free of thixotropic filling gel. 26. A method of making a gel-free buffer tube, comprising: providing a plurality of optical fibers;providing a water-swellable tape;applying an adhesive to the optical fibers and/or the water-swellable tape to bond the optical fibers and the water-swellable tape;substantially enclosing the optical fibers within the water-swellable tape, whereby the adhesive bonds the optical fibers and the water-swellable tape in a way that does not require frictional coupling; andextruding a polymeric buffer tube around both the optical fibers and the water-swellable tape. 27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the step of providing a plurality of optical fibers comprises providing an optical fiber bundle. 28. The method according to claim 26, wherein the step of providing a plurality of optical fibers comprises providing a ribbon stack of optical fibers. 29. The method according to claim 26, wherein the step of applying an adhesive to the optical fibers and/or the water-swellable tape comprises applying discrete domains of adhesive material to the optical fibers and/or the water-swellable tape to bond the optical fibers and the water-swellable tape. 30. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, wherein said water-swellable element is coupled to said buffer tube. 31. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 30, wherein said water-swellable element is adhesively coupled to said buffer tube without requiring frictional coupling. 32. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 31, comprising an adhesive material (i) adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube and (ii) embedded in said water-swellable element. 33. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 31, comprising a plurality of discrete domains of curable adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube. 34. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 31, comprising a plurality of intermittent beads of adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube. 35. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 31, comprising an adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube, said adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube comprising a silicone. 36. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 31, comprising an adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube, said adhesive material adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube comprising a two-component silicone. 37. The buffer tube arrangement of claim 1, comprising a plurality of discrete of domains of adhesive material (i) adhesively coupling said water-swellable element to said buffer tube and (ii) embedded in said water-swellable element, said discrete of domains of adhesive material comprising a two-part silicone.
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