Filament reinforced tape.

摘要

This invention relates to tape, in particular, tape reinforced by means of filaments. Individual optical fibers of fiber optic cable are generally bound by tapes or yarns. Yarns currently used in binding bundles of optical fibers frequently attenuate the optical signal by placing high stress at various points on individual optical fibers. This invention provides a tape reinforced by means of filaments comprising a backing and a plurality of yarns comprising a multiplicity of filaments adhered to at least one major surface of said backing by means of a layer of an adhesive. The yarns are disposed essentially parallel to each other along the machine direction of the tape. The yarn-bearing surface of the backing is coated with a polymeric material that both overcoats the filaments and detackifies the residual adhesive between the yarns. The yarns are preferably elliptical in cross-section, with the major axis thereof being essentially parallel to the plane of said backing. In a second embodiment, the tape is reinforced by individual filaments adhered to the backing by means of a layer of adhesive. One advantage of the tape of this invention is that it provides much less localized stress on optical fibers than does yarn typically used to bind optical fibers.