WO2004013673A1

WO2004013673A1 - A cable guide and method of laying cable

Info

Publication number: WO2004013673A1
Application number: PCT/IE2003/000103
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Craig; Michael Berry
Original assignee: Michael Craig; Michael Berry
Priority date: 2002-08-02
Filing date: 2003-07-17
Publication date: 2004-02-12
Also published as: AU2003256028A1; WO2004013673B1

Abstract

A cable guide (10) used for carrying cable (28) along, and substantially flush with a ground surface. The guide (10) comprises an elongated housing (12) within which a cavity (20) lies for receiving cable (28) and a means for securing the housing (12). Figure 1. This is used with a corresponding groove cut into the surface, which is shaped and dimensioned to accept the cable guide (10). The guide (10) has gripping members (24) along the sides (16) of the housing (12) and an access slit/channel (22) for placing the cable (28) within the housing (12). A protective shield (26) is placed in the housing (12) to minimise any penetration of the housing that would affect the cable performance. The housing (12) is formed from polymeric or UV hardened polymer material achieving flexible and formable housing (12).

Description

A cable guide and method of laying cable

The present invention concerns both a cable guide and a method for laying cable, and in particular a cable guide and method of laying cable for use with fibre optic cabling, for example in the formation of high speed telecommunication networks .

Over the past decade, particularly with the advent of the Internet, digital television, etc., the need for, and consequent development of, high-speed telecommunications networks has dramatically increased. The vast majority of such high-speed telecommunications networks utilise fibre optic cable to send and receive information. However, as with any cable based system, whether fibre optic, conventional copper base telephone wire, or otherwise, it is necessary to physically lay the network cabling, which is both a time consuming and expensive process, and will generally result in significant disruption during installation.

For example, at present, the majority of fibre optic cable is carried in subterranean ducting, which requires excavation along the entire path of the network, in order to lay the cable therein. Once laid, the excavated area must be refilled, and in the case of roads or the like, suitably re- surfaced. Furthermore, in the event of a fault in the network the site in question will then have to be dug up, the faulty cable repaired, and the site then re- illed, resulting in further disruption. As the majority of such telecoms networks are concentrated in cities and similar high-density environments where the most practical path along which the cable may be laid are roads and the like, the use of subterranean ducting for the fibre optic cabling results in substantial problems and disruptions, particularly to vehicular traffic along stretched of the roads where cable is being laid, in addition to enormous expense to the network provider .

As an alternative, overhead-cabling systems, such as those commonly used for conventional telephone networks, may be employed. However such overhead systems also suffer from a number of drawbacks, and have thus not widely been employed for fibre optic telecommunications networks. The most obvious problem with overhead cabling systems is the requirements for a network of support poles along which the cabling is strung, thereby requiring significant work, and cost, in firstly having large numbers of the support poles produced, and then fixing same along the intended path of the fibre optic cabling. The locations of the support poles again require substantial excavation work, in order to safely and securely fix the support poles in place. This will again generally be along roads or the like, where space above ground is already at a premium due to existing telephone wiring, street lighting, etc. In addition, the maintenance of such overhead cabling systems is also quite problematic, by virtue of the fact that the cabling is suspended high above the ground, thus making working thereon considerably time consuming and dangerous. Furthermore, such overhead systems require much higher maintenance as a result of being directly exposed to the elements, such as wind and rain, temperature fluctuations, etc.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a solution to the above-mentioned problems associated with conventional cabling networks. The present invention therefore provides, according to the first aspect, a cable guide for carrying cable along, and substantially flush with, a surface, the cable guide comprising an elongated housing having a cavity therein for receiving cable; and a means for securing the housing, in use, within a correspondingly shaped and dimensioned groove provided, in use, in the surface.

Preferably, the securing means comprises one or more gripping members disposed along a side face of the housing.

Preferably, the securing means comprises at least one or more elongate barb disposed along a side face of the housing.

Preferably, the securing means comprises at least one or more elongate barb disposed along each of a pair of opposed side faces of the housing.

Alternatively, the securing means comprises an adhesive disposed, in use, between the housing and the groove.

Preferably, the housing includes a protective shield disposed between the cavity and the upper surface of the housing.

Preferably, the protective shield is shaped and dimensioned to deflect any object, which penetrates the housing, away from the cavity.

Preferably, the cavity is accessed from a lateral face of the housing.

Preferably, the housing is at least partially formed from a UV hardenable polymer. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of laying cable along, and substantially flush with, a surface, the method comprising;

Providing a cable guide according to the first aspect of the invention, the cable guide having a cavity in which the cable is located; providing, in the surface, a groove which is correspondingly shaped and dimensioned with the cable guide; and inserting the cable guide into the groove .

Preferably, the method further comprises; providing the cable guide as a UV hardenable polymer and following insertion of the cable guide into the groove, exposing the cable guide to UV light.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which;

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a cable guide according to a first aspect of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of junction chambers and associated cable guides forming part of a cable network which utilises the cable guide of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 illustrates a plan view of the junction chamber, and associated cable guides, of figure 2.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there is provided a cable guide according to a first aspect of the present invention, generally indicated as 10, for particular use in carrying fibre optic cable 28, such as that forming any telecommunications network (not shown) or the like. It will however be appreciated from the following description of the invention that the cable guide 10 is suitable for use with any cable (not shown) , and is not intended to be limited to use with fibre optic cabling. The cable guide 10 essentially comprises an elongated housing 12 having a cavity 20 therein, within which the cable 28 is located, the cable guide 10 then being secured within a groove 38 formed at an upper surface 42 of, for example, a road, path, etc. (not shown) .

Therefore, referring in particular to figure 1, the housing 12 is defined between an upper face 14, a pair of opposed side faces 16 and a base 18, and is preferably, but not essentially, formed from a polymeric material such as PVC or the like. The cable guide 10 may therefore be extruded as a continuous length, and subsequently cut into desired discrete lengths. The housing 12 further comprises a channel 22 extending between the base 18 and the cavity 20, in order to facilitate the insertion of the cable 28 within the cavity 20. Although the channel 20 illustrated is considerably narrower than the diameter of the cable 28, when the housing 12 is formed from a polymeric material, and thus is resiliently deformable, those portions of the housing 12 on either side of the channel 22 may be drawn away from one another in order to permit insertion of the cable 28. It will however be appreciated that, were the housing 12 formed from an alternative material such as metal, carbon fibre, etc., the dimensions of the channel 22 could be increased to allow the direct insertion of the cable 28. Alternatively, the channel 22 could be omitted, and the -cable 28 therefore inserted into the cavity 20 via an exposed end face 44 of the housing 12. However, this is obviously a less desirable option, considering the likely length of cable 28 to be inserted into the housing 12. It is also envisaged that the cable 28 could be fed into the cavity 20 as the housing 12 is being extruded, thereby negating the requirement to separately insert the cable 28 into the cavity 20.

The cable guide 10 is further provided with securing means in the form of a plurality of elongate barbs 24 projecting outwardly from each side face 16, the barbs 24 preferably extending along the entire length of the respective side face 16. It will be apparent t at the barbs 24 could be formed integrally with the housing 12, particularly when the housing 12 is formed by extrusion, although the barbs 24 could of course be formed separately therefrom, and then suitably secured to each side face 16. The barbs 24 are provided to secure the cable guide 10, and then consequently the cable 28 contained therein, within the groove 38 formed along the surface 42. The shape and configuration of the barbs 24 permit the cable guide 10 to be pressed downwardly, base 18 first, into the groove 38, but make it extremely difficult to then remove the cable guide 10 from the groove 38. It will be apparent that one or more barbs 24 could be provided along a single side face 16 only, where the groove 38 and/or housing 12 is suitably dimensioned, in order to secure the cable -guide 10 in place. The cable guide 10 and the groove 38 are preferably correspondingly shaped and dimensioned such that, when the cable guide 10 is fully seated within the groove 38, the upper face 14 lies substantially flush with the surfa.ce 42. As an alternative, or a complimentary measure, to the barbs 24, an adhesive (not shown) could be provided between the housing 12 and the groove 38, for example along one or more of the base 18 or side faces 16. Thus the cable guide 10 would be pressed into the groove 38 as hereinbefore described, wherein the adhesive would cure and secure the cable guide 10 within the groove 38.

It will be appreciated that as the cable guide 10 is located adjacent to the surface 42, and the upper face 14 is exposed to the external environment, it is possible that damage, whether accidental or otherwise could be inflicted on the cable guide 10, and consequently the cable 28 contained therein. A protective shield 26 is therefore provided within the housing 12, and as illustrated, is preferable disposed between the upper face 14 and the cavity 20. The protective shield 26 is preferable formed from metal or the like, and as illustrated, is preferable V shaped such as to capable of deflecting any objects which penetrate, in use, the upper house 14 and progress towards the cavity 20. The protective shield 26 is preferably inserted within the housing 12 during the extrusion thereof, although it will be appreciated that a suitably shaped and dimensioned aperture (not shown) could be provided within the housing 12, and the protective shield 26 subsequently inserted therein. As an alternative to the protective shield 26, the upper face 14 could be provided with a metal capping (not shown) or the like, to serve the same purpose as the protective shield 26.

From the above it will be appreciated that laying of the cable guide 10 essentially requires only the formation of the groove 38 along the surface 42, which it will be apparent can be accomplished using relatively small, and consequently non disruptive, cutting machinery (not shown) . Furthermore, such machinery could be adapted to both cut the groove 38 in the surface 42, and to subsequently press the cable guide 10 into said groove 38, as the machine progresses along the surface 42. It is therefore apparent that the cable guide 10 of the present invention permits the simple and relatively inexpensive laying of a fibre optic network.

A further advantage of the present invention results from the formation of the housing 12 from a polymeric material, whioh will therefore be at least partially resiliently deformable. Thus the cable guide 10 can be bent into a curved shape during laying, in order to follow a curved path, for example to turn corners, avoid obstructions, etc. As a preferred feature, the housing 12 is formed from a UV hardenable polymeric material. Therefore, once the cable guide 10 has been laid, it is then exposed to UV light, whether naturally or artificially produced, which then causes the cable guide 10 to harden, increasing the protection afforded to the cable 28 contained therein.

Referring to figures 2 and 3 , in order to render the various stretches of fibre optic cable 28 accessible, for example, for maintenance and/or diagnostic work, a junction chamber 30 may be provided at pre-determined intervals along the length of the cable guide 10, as illustrated. In order to locate the junction chamber 30, a cylindrical bore 40 is sunk from the surface 42, and the junction chamber 30 inserted therein. Two or more cable guides 10 may therefore radiate outwardly from each junction chamber 30, the fibre optic cable 28 located within each cable guide 10 being fed into the junction chamber 30, as illustrated in figure 2, and connected together as required by one or more mechanical splices 34. In order to protect the fibre optic cable 28 within the junction chamber 30 from the external environment, a cap 32 is provided, which may be releasably secured to the junction chamber 30 by means of one or more security screws 36, or by any other conventional means. Thus the junction chamber 30 allows the associated lengths of fibre optic cable 28 to be repaired as required, thereby negating the requirement for the withdrawal of any sections of the cable guide 10 from the corresponding groove 38.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described herein, which may be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cable guide for carrying cable along, and substantially flush with, a surface, the cable guide comprising: an elongated housing having a cavity therein for receiving cable; and a means for securing the housing, in use, within a correspondingly shaped and dimensioned groove provided, in use, in the surface.

2. A cable guide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means comprises one or more gripping members disposed along a side face of the housing.

3. A cable guide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means comprises at least one or more elongate barb disposed along a side face of the housing.

4. A cable guide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means comprises at least one or more elongate barb disposed along each of a pair of opposed side faces of the housing.

5. A cable guide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means comprises an adhesive disposed, in use, between the housing and the groove.

6. A cable guide as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the housing includes a protective shield disposed between the cavity and the upper surface of the housing.

7. A cable guide as claimed in claim 6, wherein the protective shield is shaped and dimensioned to deflect any object, which penetrates the housing, away from the cavity.

8. A cable guide as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the cavity is accessed from a lateral face of the housing.

9. A method of laying cable along, and substantially flush with, a surface, the method comprising:

Providing a cable guide according to the cable guide having a cavity in which the cable is located; and Providing, in the surface, a groove which is correspondingly shaped and dimensioned with the cable guide; and inserting the cable guide into the groove.

10. A method of laying cable according to claim 9, further comprising; providing the cable guide as a UV hardenable polymer and following insertion of the cable guide into the groove, exposing the cable guide to UV light.

11. A cable guide according to any of claims 1 to 8 , being substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings .

12. A method for laying cable according to either of claims 9 or 10, being substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings .