| 摘要 |
<p>It is an object of the invention to provide an optical fiber cable (10) having hermetically-sealed optical fibers (25) and excellent strength characteristics without utilizing a costly welded steel tube. It is a further object of the invention to provide an optical fiber cable (10) that is capable of efficient and fast manufacture. These and other objects are provided by an optical fiber cable (10) employing a novel cable core (20), the cable core (20) comprising an inner, longitudinally extending, substantially-closed C-section tube (15); and an outer, hermetically-sealed, longitudinally extending outer tube (18) disposed concentrically around the C-section tube (15) in a substantially close-fitting manner. Advantageously, the C-section tube (15) assists in protecting the optical fibers (25) against crush, impact and pressure, and may also enhance the tensile strength of the optical fiber cable (10). The use of the C-section tube (15) also allows the optical fibers (25) to be efficiently introduced into the interior cavity of the C-section tube (15) during cable production. And, as the C-section tube (15) provides the desired strength characteristics of the cable core (20), the outer tube (18) may be advantageously optimized to hermetically seal the optical fibers (25) in the cable core (20). Thus, the outer tube (18) may be designed, for example, according to its sealing characteristics and manufacturability without significant regard for mechanical characteristics such as strength. <IMAGE></p> |
