CN117706699A

CN117706699A - Underwater optical cable connection device

Info

Publication number: CN117706699A
Application number: CN202410076829.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄美金; 杨涛; 孙莹; 胡孝芳; 姜凯; 李武超; 明逸东; 陈燕丽; 潘涛; 杨成
Original assignee: Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2024-01-18
Filing date: 2024-01-18
Publication date: 2024-03-15

Abstract

The application relates to an underwater optical cable connecting device, which comprises a shell and a mounting structure, wherein the shell comprises at least two shells, one end of each shell is provided with an accommodating space, and the other end of each shell is provided with a mounting through hole communicated with the accommodating space and used for fixing an optical cable; the installation structure is used for connecting and fixing all the shells, so that the accommodating spaces of all the shells form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating the fiber storage device. The method and the device can solve the problems of high construction cost, low qualification rate and unsafe condition of the splice case splicing cable in the related technology.

Description

Underwater optical cable connection device

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of optical cable communication, in particular to an underwater optical cable connection device.

Background

The ocean optical communication network is an optical communication network for carrying out information communication by taking an ocean optical cable as a transmission carrier, and is an important component of the ocean information network. The ocean optical communication network currently carries more than 95% of international information communication transmission worldwide, and is an important information carrier and base network for global communication.

The submarine optical cable is used for protecting the optical fiber to reliably run on the seabed for a long time and is generally composed of the optical fiber, a light unit, an inner armor steel wire, a metal compression-resistant pipe, a sheath layer, an outer armor steel wire and an outer coating layer.

The submarine cable connector box is used for splicing submarine optical cables and generally comprises a fiber storage device, an insulating sealing layer, a clamping structure, an outer shell and a bending limiter.

The submarine cable connection is generally carried out on a cable laying ship, and generally comprises the steps of stripping an optical cable, storing an optical fiber fusion splice tray in a splice box fiber storage device, insulating and sealing the splice box, fixing submarine cable armor wires by using a splice box clamping structure, installing a splice box outer shell, a bending limiter and the like. In actual use, the problems of long construction time and high cost on the cable laying ship, high skill requirements of constructors, more personnel, high construction reliability risk on the cable laying ship, safety risk on the cable laying ship and the like exist.

The specific analysis is as follows:

1) The construction time is long and the cost is high. The submarine optical cable stripping needs to cut each protection layer of the submarine optical cable to a fixed length; the clamping structure of the joint box is used for fixing the submarine cable armored steel wire, the armored steel wire is required to be loosened and twisted again, and the clamping structure is fastened by a hydraulic press; the insulation sealing of the connector box requires a hot air gun to shrink the hot melt sleeve; the construction steps are long, the construction time of the joint box at the two ends is generally 13-16 h, and the construction time of the branching device at the three ends is generally 18-21 h.

The construction time on the cable laying ship is precious, and the cost of the cable laying ship such as sea personnel, fuel, depreciation and the like is very high; the weather risk on the sea is also high, the construction can not be performed under the condition of 6 grades of wind, the window period of the construction is short, if the weather condition changes, the continuous construction can not be completed, the cable laying ship needs to be thrown to the port, the shipment construction is performed after the weather condition is improved, the sea cable also needs to be cut off again, and the time cost and the construction cost are very high.

2) The construction skill requirement is high. The construction of sea cable stripping, optical fiber fusion, insulation sealing of a connector box, fixing of sea cable armoured steel wires by a connector box clamping structure and the like all require higher skills; because of high skill requirements and long construction time, 3 constructors are generally required to install the connector box on the cable laying ship, and the cost of the constructors is high; and the number of personnel on the cable laying ship is limited, and beds and the like are tense.

3) The reliability risk of site operation is high. The sealing of the general connector box is realized by shrinking the hot melt sleeve, if bubbles appear in the hot melt sleeve, the hot melt sleeve may be broken under the pressure of seawater, so that the sealing is invalid to damage the optical cable, and the cut cable connection needs to be salvaged again; whether the sealing is qualified on the cable laying ship can only be judged by experience, and the hydraulic sealing performance cannot be checked in advance; the clamping structure of the joint box can not be used for checking the fixation condition of the submarine cable armored steel wires, if the submarine cable armored steel wires are unbalanced in stress, a single stressed wire is overlarge, breakage can occur, so that other steel wires are stressed to be increased and broken successively, the submarine cable and the joint box are pulled off to be damaged, and the cut cable connection needs to be salvaged again.

4) Safety risk of site operation. The bow of the cable laying ship is swayed when offshore construction, and all processes such as cutting fixed length of submarine cable armor wire all use cutting tool, and the tangent plane of submarine cable armor wire is sharp, if the security protection is not in place, causes constructor injury very easily. The deck space of the cable laying ship is narrow, and when a worker operates the optical cable joint box for construction, the operator can be injured due to cutting action, hydraulic press use and other possible working procedures; asphalt is generally adopted for protecting the submarine cable armored steel wires, and chemical reagents are generally adopted for cleaning asphalt, and have certain toxicity and flammability, so that the safety of a cable laying ship is influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an underwater optical cable connecting device, which aims to solve the problems of high water construction cost, low qualification rate and unsafe condition of connecting a cable by a connector box in the related technology.

The embodiment of the application provides an underwater optical cable connection device, which comprises:

the optical cable fixing device comprises a shell, wherein the shell comprises at least two shells, one end of each shell is provided with an accommodating space, and the other end of each shell is provided with an installation through hole communicated with the accommodating space and used for fixing an optical cable;

the installation structure is used for connecting and fixing all the shells, so that the accommodating spaces of all the shells form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating the fiber storage device.

In some embodiments, the ends of both of the shells are flat, and the ends of both of the shells abut to form a flat seam when the fiber storage cavity is formed.

In some embodiments, the outer surface of the housing is provided with a first configuration;

the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece, wherein two second structures matched with the first structures are arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece;

the two shells extend into the connecting piece from two ends of the connecting piece and are abutted, and the two first structures are respectively clamped on the two second structures;

The connecting piece is fixed on the shell.

In some embodiments, the first configuration is one of a groove and a boss and the second configuration is the other of a groove and a boss;

and/or the connecting piece comprises a plurality of locking units, and two adjacent locking units are connected.

In some embodiments, a first seal is also provided between the connector and the housing.

In some embodiments, the first seal member includes a seal ring, a portion of which covers one of the housing outer surfaces in an axial direction of the mounting through hole, and another portion of which covers the other of the housing outer surfaces;

and/or the first sealing piece comprises at least two sealing rings, and at least one sealing ring is arranged between each shell and the connecting piece.

In some embodiments, the seal ring is a metal seal ring, and the metal seal ring is in interference fit with the housing;

or, a sealant is arranged between the sealing ring and the outer surface of the shell.

In some embodiments, the two shells are provided with external threads, and the spiral directions are opposite;

The mounting structure comprises a connecting piece, wherein an internal thread matched with the external thread is arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece;

the two shells extend into the connecting piece from two ends of the connecting piece respectively and are in butt joint, and the two shells are in threaded connection with the connecting piece.

In some embodiments, the mounting structure includes a connector and two sleeves;

external threads are arranged at two ends of the outer surface of the connecting piece;

the two shells extend into the connecting piece from two ends of the connecting piece respectively and are abutted;

the two sleeves are respectively sleeved on the two shells, the sleeves are provided with internal threads matched with the external threads, one ends of the sleeves are abutted to the end parts of the shells in the sleeves, and the other ends of the sleeves are in threaded connection with the connecting pieces.

In some embodiments, the first seal comprises at least two sealing rings, and at least one sealing ring is disposed between each of the housing and the connector.

In some embodiments, the mounting structure comprises a sleeve, internal threads, and external threads that mate with the internal threads;

The sleeve is sleeved on one of the two shells, the internal thread is arranged on the inner surface of the sleeve, and the external thread is arranged on the outer surface of the other one of the two shells;

one end of the sleeve is abutted with the end part of the shell in the sleeve, and the other end of the sleeve is in threaded connection with the other shell.

In some embodiments, a first seal is disposed between the sleeve inner surface and the housing outer surface.

In some embodiments, the first sealing member is a sealing ring, and in the axial direction of the mounting through hole, a part of the sealing ring covers one of the outer surfaces of the shell, and another part of the sealing ring covers the other outer surface of the shell;

and/or the first sealing piece comprises at least two sealing rings, and at least one sealing ring is arranged between each shell and the sleeve.

In some embodiments, a sealant is disposed between the external thread and the internal thread.

In some embodiments, the ends of both of the housings are tongue and groove, and the ends of both of the housings abut to form a tongue and groove seam when the fiber storage cavity is formed.

In some embodiments, the mounting structure includes internal threads and external threads that mate with the internal threads;

The internal thread is arranged on the tongue-and-groove of one of the two shells, and the external thread is arranged on the tongue-and-groove of the other of the two shells;

the two shells are in threaded connection.

the two shells extend into the connecting piece from two ends of the connecting piece respectively, and the two first structures are respectively clamped on the two second structures;

the connecting piece is fixed on the shell.

In some embodiments, a first seal is also disposed between the tongue and groove of the two housings.

In some embodiments, the first seal comprises one or more of a seal ring and a sealant.

In some embodiments, the housing is further configured with a traction cap for removable mounting to the housing;

and/or a fiber storage device is arranged in the accommodating space, and an insulating sealing layer is arranged between the fiber storage device and the shell;

and/or, the shell is also connected with a bending limiter.

In some embodiments, a first clamping structure for fixing the inner armor wires of the optical cable is arranged in the shell at the installation through hole.

In some embodiments, a colloid or wedge structure for fixing the inner armor wire is disposed in the first clamping structure.

In some embodiments, a second seal is disposed between the housing and the jacket layer of the fiber optic cable.

In some embodiments, the second seal comprises one or more of a heat shrink tube and a seal ring.

In some embodiments, a second clamping structure is provided outside the housing for securing the outer armor wire clamp of the fiber optic cable to the housing.

In some embodiments, the shell and the second clamping structure are sleeved with a threaded sleeve, one end of the threaded sleeve is abutted to the second clamping structure, and the other end of the threaded sleeve is in threaded connection with the shell.

In some embodiments, the housing comprises at least three shells;

the installation structure comprises a butt joint part, wherein a hollow cavity is formed in the butt joint part, at least three butt joint parts are formed on the butt joint part and are in butt joint with the shell, and when each shell is respectively in butt joint with one of the butt joint parts, all the accommodating spaces of the shell and the hollow cavity jointly form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating a fiber storage device.

In some embodiments, at least one of the housing ends is flat, at least one of the butt-joint portions is flat, and the housing ends abut against the butt-joint portion ends to form a flat seam when the fiber storage cavity is formed;

and/or, the end part of at least one of the shells is a tongue-and-groove, the end part of at least one of the butt joint parts is a tongue-and-groove, and the end part of the shell is abutted with the end part of the butt joint part to form a tongue-and-groove joint when the fiber storage cavity is formed.

In some embodiments, the mounting structure further comprises a sleeve;

the outer surface of the abutting part is provided with external threads;

the sleeve is sleeved on the shell, an internal thread matched with the external thread is arranged on the sleeve, one end of the sleeve is abutted to the end part of the shell in the sleeve, and the other end of the sleeve is in threaded connection with the abutting part.

The beneficial effects that technical scheme that this application provided brought include:

the fiber storage cavity is formed by splicing at least two shells, and each shell is provided with an installation through hole for an optical cable to pass through, so that optical fiber connection can be carried out in the fiber storage cavity. Therefore, the design scheme of the splicing device is changed, and as each shell can fix an optical cable to be spliced, the splicing device and the optical cable prefabrication can be realized, the stripping of the optical cable, the sealing of the optical cable and the splicing device, the pretreatment of the optical fiber, the fixation of the optical cable armored steel wire and the splicing device and the like are all prefabricated in a land factory, and the steps of water construction mainly comprise optical fiber splicing, fiber coiling and butt joint sealing, so that the water construction time can be greatly reduced, the cost is reduced, and the risk of construction period delay is reduced.

The steps of water construction mainly comprise fiber connection, fiber coiling, butt joint sealing, low construction skill requirement, less workload and reduced personnel skill requirement and cost.

The optical cable and the jointing device are sealed in a prefabrication mode in a land factory, so that the sealing test can be carried out in advance, the optical cable armored steel wire and the jointing device are fixed in the prefabrication mode in the land factory, the testing of tension, torsion and the like can be carried out in advance, and the qualification rate of the jointing device is guaranteed.

The steps of water construction mainly comprise optical fiber connection, fiber coiling, butt joint sealing, no construction steps of cutting, high temperature, asphalt cleaning and the like, the risk of personnel injury is reduced, and the safety is ensured.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a submarine cable according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another submarine cable provided herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an underwater optical cable splicing device according to the first embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the underwater optical cable splicing device according to the first embodiment of the present application when the land prefabrication is completed;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an underwater optical cable splicing device according to a second embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an underwater optical cable connection device provided in a third embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an underwater optical cable splicing device according to a fourth embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an underwater optical cable splicing device according to a fifth embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an underwater optical cable connection device provided in a sixth embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an underwater optical cable connection device provided in a seventh embodiment of the present application.

In the figure: 1. an optical cable; 2. an optical fiber; 3. a light unit; 4. an inner armor wire; 5. a metal compression-resistant tube; 6. a sheath layer; 7. an outer armor wire; 8. an outer coating layer; 10. a housing; 11. an accommodation space; 12. a connecting piece; 13. a second configuration; 14. a locking unit; 15. a seal ring; 16. a seal ring; 17. a sleeve; 18. a traction cap; 19. an insulating sealing layer; 20. a bend limiter; 21. a first clamping structure; 22. a colloid; 23. a heat shrinkage tube; 24. a second clamping structure; 25. a thread sleeve; 26. and a butt joint piece.

Detailed Description

For the purposes of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present application based on the embodiments herein.

For better description of the present application, the optical cable 1 is exemplified by a submarine cable, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, which are schematic cross-sectional views of two different submarine cables. The submarine optical cable mainly comprises an optical fiber 2, an optical unit 3, a metal compression-resistant tube 5 and a sheath layer 6. The submarine cable is communicated through an optical fiber 2; to avoid stressing the optical fiber 2, the optical fiber 2 is placed in the light unit 3 for protection, and the light unit 3 is generally a thin-walled stainless steel tube; the submarine cable is laid on the sea floor, needs to bear the water pressure of 80MPa at the maximum, and the metal compression-resistant pipe 5 provides anti-hydrostatic pressure protection, plays a role in radial watertight and minimizes microbending of the optical fiber 2; the sheath layer 6 plays a role in corrosion resistance and wear resistance, plays an insulating role on the submarine cable with relay, and ensures the electrical property of the submarine cable, and is generally made of PE.

Optionally, the inner armor wires 4 provide internal tensile, lateral pressure resistance protection, typically galvanized steel wires;

optionally, in order to resist sharp edge penetration caused by trawlers, buried plows, rocks and the like, the steel wire rope also comprises an outer armor steel wire 7, and in order to effectively prevent the outer armor steel wire from being corroded by seawater, the outer armor steel wire 7 is generally a galvanized steel wire, and asphalt is poured during twisting; the outer coating 8 prevents the optical cable from mechanical damage during manufacture, laying and maintenance, and also protects against corrosion, buffers, etc., typically using PP ropes filled with bitumen.

Referring to fig. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, the underwater optical cable connection device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a housing and an installation structure, the housing includes at least two shells 10, one end of the shell 10 is formed with an accommodating space 11, and the other end is provided with an installation through hole communicating with the accommodating space 11 and used for fixing an optical cable 1; the mounting structure is used for connecting and fixing all the shells 10, so that the accommodating spaces 11 of all the shells 10 form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating a fiber storage device.

The fiber storage cavity is formed by splicing at least two shells 10, and each shell 10 is provided with a mounting through hole for the optical cable 1 to pass through, so that optical fiber splicing can be performed in the fiber storage cavity. Therefore, the design scheme of the splicing device is changed, and as each shell 10 can fix an optical cable to be spliced, the splicing device and the prefabrication of the optical cable can be realized, that is, the stripping of the optical cable, the sealing of the optical cable and the splicing device, the pretreatment of the optical fiber, the fixation of the armored steel wire of the optical cable and the splicing device and the like are all prefabricated in a land factory, and the steps of water construction mainly comprise the splicing of the optical fiber, the coiling and the butt joint sealing, so that the water construction time can be greatly reduced, the cost is reduced, and the risk of delay of the construction period is reduced. Through experiments, the splicing device provided by the application reduces the water construction time to 2-3 h, and reduces the construction time of the three-terminal branching device to 3-4 h.

The steps of water construction mainly comprise optical fiber connection, fiber coiling, butt joint sealing, low construction skill requirement, less workload, reduced personnel skill requirement and cost, and generally only 1 technician is needed.

It will be appreciated that the above water should be construed broadly, i.e. to include the application scenarios of rivers, lakes, seas, etc.

It will be appreciated that the above-mentioned splicing of optical fibers in the fiber storage cavity may be performed by fusion, or may be performed by termination, or may be performed by other means, which is not specifically limited in this application.

It will be appreciated that the underwater optical cable connection device provided in the embodiments of the present application does not require the housing 10 to be connected by a mounting structure during prefabrication on land and transportation on water.

It can be understood that, in submarine optical communication, the splicing device will splice two optical cables, and the optical cable structure of the two butt joints is the same, so the splicing device is generally symmetrical on both sides; of course, the structure of the optical cable abutting on both sides of the splicing device may be different.

Likewise, it will be appreciated that the splice device may splice three or more cables.

Therefore, the underwater optical cable connecting device provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for connecting two optical cables or three or more optical cables.

For example, when two optical cables are spliced, the structure may be bilaterally symmetrical, that is, the structures of the two housings 10 may be identical, so that the splicing of the two housings 10 may be referred to as a male-to-male connection scheme. Likewise, the structure of the underwater optical cable connection device may be asymmetric on both sides, that is, the structures of the two housings 10 may be different, so that the splicing of the two housings 10 may be referred to as a male-female connection scheme.

It will be appreciated that the male-to-male connection scheme, i.e. the scheme in which the two housings 10 are identical in construction, has at least one of the greatest advantages with respect to the male-to-female connection scheme, i.e.: when in use, the male head and the female head are not required to be recognized, and mistakes are not required to be worried about.

As an example, referring to fig. 5, 6 and 7, the underwater optical cable splicing devices with three different structures all belong to two symmetrical structures, namely, a male-male connection scheme is adopted.

As an example, referring to fig. 8, 9 and 10, the underwater optical cable splicing devices with three different structures all belong to two asymmetric structures, namely, a male-female connection scheme is adopted.

It can be seen that for the two different connection modes described above, different mounting structures are correspondingly required to be adapted.

It will be appreciated that for a male-to-male connection scheme, typically, the ends of both of the shells 10 are flat, and the ends of both shells 10 abut to form a flat seam when the fiber storage cavity is formed.

For example, as an example of a male-male connection scheme, see fig. 5, the outer surface of the housing 10 is provided with a first configuration; the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece 12, and two second structures 13 matched with the first structures are arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece 12; the two shells 10 respectively extend into the connecting piece 12 from two ends of the connecting piece 12 and are abutted, and the two first structures are respectively clamped on the two second structures 13; the connector 12 is fixed to the housing 10.

The optical fibers 2 of the optical cable 1 are welded, coiled and protected on the fiber storage device. The connector 12 is used for connecting the two shells 10 and assisting in transmitting the tensile force applied to the optical cable 1 during laying, maintenance and salvage.

Wherein the first configuration is one of a groove and a boss, and the second configuration 13 is the other of a groove and a boss; for example, in fig. 5, the first configuration is a groove, and the second configuration 13 is a boss, and the boss is snapped into the groove to transfer force.

Referring to fig. 3, the connecting piece 12 includes a plurality of locking units 14, two adjacent locking units 14 are connected, and it is understood that after two housings 10 abut, each locking unit 14 may be circumferentially mounted on the housing 10, and then the two adjacent locking units 14 are connected and fastened. For example, the locking units 14 may be fastened by a pair of screws or the like, or fastened by other means, which is not limited herein.

The connecting member 12 may be fixed to the housing 10 by a screw or the like, or may be fixed by other means, which is not limited herein.

In order to ensure a better sealing effect, a first seal is also provided between the connecting piece 12 and the housing 10.

There are various forms of the first seal member, for example, referring to fig. 5, the first seal member includes a seal ring 15, a part of the seal ring 15 is covered on an outer surface of one of the housings 10 in an axial direction of the mounting through hole, and another part of the seal ring 15 is covered on an outer surface of the other housing 10, so that a flat seam is covered by the seal ring 15, and the seal ring 15 is used for butt sealing of the two housings 10.

As another example, the first seal member includes at least two seal rings 16, and at least one seal ring 16 is disposed between each of the housing 10 and the connecting member 12.

Also for example, referring to fig. 5, the first sealing member includes the sealing ring 15 and at least two sealing rings 16, where the sealing ring 15 is used for butt sealing of the two shells 10, and the sealing ring 15 and the shells 10 may be sealed by the sealing ring 16, or may be sealed by sealant, that is, a sealant is disposed between the sealing ring 15 and an outer surface of the shells 10, or may be sealed by other manners, which is not limited herein.

It will be appreciated that the sealing ring 15 provided herein has a certain width in the axial direction, such that it is in the form of a strip, so that when sealing is performed, a portion of the sealing ring 15 covers one side of the splice joint, and another portion of the sealing ring 15 covers the other side of the splice joint.

The width of the seal ring 16 in the axial direction is too small relative to the seal ring 15, making it difficult to cover both sides of the splice seam.

Further, the seal ring 15 is a metal seal ring, and the metal seal ring is in interference fit with the housing 10.

As another example, as shown in fig. 6, as an embodiment of a male-male connection scheme, two housings 10 are provided with external threads, and the screw directions are opposite; the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece 12, wherein an internal thread matched with the external thread is arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece 12; the two shells 10 extend into the connecting piece 12 from two ends of the connecting piece 12 and are abutted, and the two shells 10 are in threaded connection with the connecting piece 12 through external threads and internal threads. The connecting piece 12 is connected with the two shells 10 through threads, and can be left-handed threads and right-handed threads, so that the connecting piece 12 and the shells 10 do not need to rotate the shells 10 when the splicing device is in butt joint, and only the connecting piece 12 needs to be rotated, and the optical fiber 2 is prevented from being driven to rotate, and the problems of loss increase or optical fiber twisting are avoided. The tensile force applied to the optical cable 1 in the laying, maintenance and salvaging process is transmitted between the connecting piece 12 and the shell 10 through the screw thread assistance.

In order to ensure a better sealing effect, a first sealing element is also provided between the connecting element 12 and the housing 10, as shown in fig. 6. Specifically, the first seal member includes at least two seal rings 16, and at least one seal ring 16 is provided between each of the housing 10 and the connecting member 12. Further, a sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread.

As another example of a male-male connection scheme, see fig. 7, the mounting structure includes a connector 12 and two sleeves 17; external threads are arranged at two ends of the outer surface of the connecting piece 12, and the spiral directions can be the same or opposite; the two shells 10 respectively extend into the connecting piece 12 from two ends of the connecting piece 12 and are abutted; the two sleeves 17 are respectively sleeved on the two shells 10, the sleeves 17 are provided with internal threads matched with the external threads, one ends of the sleeves 17 are abutted against the end parts of the shells 10 in the sleeves, and the other ends of the sleeves 17 are in threaded connection with the connecting piece 12 through the external threads and the internal threads. The two housings 10 are nested into the connector 12, and the two housings 10 can be mated by rotating the two sleeves 17. The joint between the connector 12, the sleeve 17 and the housing 10 assists in transmitting the tensile forces to which the cable 1 is subjected during laying, maintenance and fishing.

In order to ensure a better sealing effect, a first sealing element is also provided between the connecting element 12 and the housing 10, see fig. 7. Specifically, the first seal member includes at least two seal rings 16, and at least one seal ring 16 is provided between each of the housing 10 and the connecting member 12. Further, a sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread.

Without loss of generality, the male-female connection scheme is also possible in practice, where both of the ends of the housing 10 are plain.

For example, the solution of fig. 9 is modified to make the tongue-and-groove flat, in which case the mounting structure comprises a sleeve 17, an internal thread and an external thread adapted to the internal thread; wherein, the sleeve 17 is sleeved on one of the two shells 10, the inner surface of the sleeve 17 is provided with the internal thread, and the external thread is arranged on the outer surface of the other of the two shells 10; one end of the sleeve 17 abuts against the end of the housing 10 therein, and the other end is screwed with the other housing 10 by external threads and internal threads. The sleeve 17 is connected to one of the housings 10 by means of a screw thread, so that the sleeve 17 and the housing 10 do not need to rotate the housing 10 when the splicing device is docked, only the sleeve 17 needs to be rotated. The sleeve 17 and the shell 10 are used for assisting in transmitting the tensile force applied to the optical cable 1 in the laying, maintenance and salvage process through threads.

With continued reference to fig. 9, a first seal is provided between the inner surface of the sleeve 17 and the outer surface of the housing 10. Further, there are various forms of the first seal member, and it can be understood with reference to fig. 5, for example, the first seal member is a seal ring 15, and in the axial direction of the mounting through hole, a part of the seal ring 15 covers the outer surface of one of the housings 10, and another part of the seal ring 15 covers the outer surface of the other housing 10; as another example, the first seal comprises at least two sealing rings 16, and at least one sealing ring 16 is provided between each of the housing 10 and the sleeve 17. Further, a sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread.

It will be appreciated that for a male-female connection scheme, typically, the ends of both housings 10 are tongue and groove, and that when a fiber storage cavity is formed, the ends of both housings 10 abut to form a tongue and groove joint.

For example, as an example of a male-female connection scheme, referring to fig. 8, the mounting structure includes an internal thread and an external thread adapted to the internal thread; wherein the internal thread is arranged on a tongue-and-groove of one of the two shells 10, and the external thread is arranged on a tongue-and-groove of the other of the two shells 10; the two housings 10 are screwed together by external threads and internal threads. The two shells 10 assist in transmitting the tensile force applied to the optical cable 1 during laying, maintenance and salvage through threads. Further, a sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread to seal. Further, a first seal is provided between the tongue-and-groove of the two housings 10. For example, the first seal may include one or more of a gasket 16 and a sealant.

As another example, referring to fig. 9, the mounting structure includes a sleeve 17, an internal thread, and an external thread adapted to the internal thread; wherein, the sleeve 17 is sleeved on one of the two shells 10, the inner surface of the sleeve 17 is provided with the internal thread, and the external thread is arranged on the outer surface of the other of the two shells 10; one end of the sleeve 17 abuts against the end of the housing 10 therein, and the other end is screwed with the other housing 10 by external threads and internal threads. The sleeve 17 is connected to one of the housings 10 by means of a screw thread, so that the sleeve 17 and the housing 10 do not need to rotate the housing 10 when the splicing device is docked, only the sleeve 17 needs to be rotated. The sleeve 17 and the shell 10 are used for assisting in transmitting the tensile force applied to the optical cable 1 in the laying, maintenance and salvage process through threads. Further, a sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread. Further, a first seal is provided between the tongue-and-groove of the two housings 10. For example, the first seal may include one or more of a gasket 16 and a sealant.

As another example, referring to fig. 10, as an example of a male-female connection scheme, the outer surface of the housing 10 is provided with a first configuration; the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece 12, and two second structures 13 matched with the first structures are arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece 12; the two shells 10 extend into the connecting piece 12 from two ends of the connecting piece 12 respectively, and the two first structures are respectively clamped on the two second structures 13; the connector 12 is fixed to the housing 10. The connector 12 is used for connecting the two shells 10 and assisting in transmitting the tensile force applied to the optical cable 1 during laying, maintenance and salvage.

Wherein the first configuration is one of a groove and a boss, and the second configuration 13 is the other of a groove and a boss; for example, in fig. 10, the first structure is a groove, and the second structure 13 is a boss, and the boss is snapped into the groove to achieve force transmission.

Further, a first seal is provided between the tongue-and-groove of the two housings 10. For example, the first seal may include one or more of a gasket 16 and a sealant.

Referring to fig. 4, the housing 10 is further provided with a traction cap 18 for removable attachment to the housing 10; traction cap 18 may be assembled prior to docking of the two housings 10. The traction cap 18 is matched with the shell 10 to realize protection and sealing in the transportation of the prefabricated parts of the connecting device, the traction cap 18 can also play a role in traction, and optionally, the sealing ring 16 is used for realizing sealing between the traction cap 18 and the shell 10. Alternatively, the traction cap 18 and the housing 10 may be sealed with a sealant or otherwise sealed, without limitation. The transmission of traction between traction cap 18 and housing 10 may be by way of a locking screw, or by other means, not limited herein.

Referring to fig. 5, a fiber storage device is disposed in the accommodating space 11, an insulating sealing layer 19 is disposed between the fiber storage device and the housing 10, so as to realize insulation and isolation between an inner metal part and an outer metal part of the connection device, and realize relay transmission of the optical cable 1, or the submarine communication system uses internal high-voltage power to detect a water leakage damage point in an electromagnetic manner.

Referring to fig. 5, a bending limiter 20 is further connected to the housing 10 for preventing stress concentration during laying of the cable through the drum and reducing the influence of the optical fiber during laying and recovery of the submarine cable.

Referring to fig. 5, a first clamping structure 21 for fixing the inner armor wires 4 of the optical cable 1 is provided in the housing 10 at the installation through-hole.

The first clamping structure 21 may be used for fixing the inner steel wire 4 in various manners, for example, a colloid 22 or a wedge structure for fixing the inner steel wire 4 is disposed in the first clamping structure 21.

In the example of fig. 4, the first clamping structure 21 fixes the inner armour wires 4 with glue 22.

The first clamping structure 21 and the housing 10 may be a split structure, such as shown in fig. 5; the first clamping structure 21 and the housing 10 may also be a unitary structure, such as shown in fig. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

A second seal is provided between the housing 10 and the jacket layer 6 of the cable 1. There are various forms of the second sealing member, for example, as shown in fig. 5, the second sealing member includes a heat shrink tube 23; as another example, referring to fig. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, the second seal includes a sealing ring 16.

Referring to fig. 5, a second clamping structure 24 for clamping and fixing the outer armor wires 7 of the optical cable 1 to the housing 10 is provided outside the housing 10.

In the example of fig. 5, the second clamping structure 24 is a wedge structure, alternatively, the second clamping structure 24 may be used instead of the outer steel wire 7 welded directly to the housing 10, or combined by other means, which is not limited herein.

Referring to fig. 5, the casing 10 and the second clamping structure 24 are sleeved with a threaded sleeve 25, one end of the threaded sleeve 25 abuts against the second clamping structure 24, and the other end is screwed on the casing 10.

The thread bush 25 is connected with the shell 10 through threads, prevents the second clamping structure 24 from loosening, ensures that the outer steel wire 7 is firmly fixed, and transmits the tensile force.

Optionally, the bend limiter 20 is secured to a second clamping structure 24, such as shown in FIG. 5; alternatively, the bend limiter 20 may be secured to the housing 10, such as shown in fig. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Taking the schemes of fig. 4 and 5 as an example, when in use, in the land prefabrication construction, the bending limiter 20, the threaded sleeve 25 and the second clamping structure 24 are sleeved into a submarine cable, and are placed in a region far away from the connecting device; cutting off the outer coating 8 and the outer armor wire 7 at a certain distance from the submarine cable by using a cutting machine; then cutting off the outer coating layer 8 at a certain position far away from the sea cable direction by using an art designer knife, and removing the outer coating layer 8; then the outer armor wire 7 is divided into a plurality of strands of spirals to be unwound; then sheathing the shell 10 and the insulating sealing layer 19 into the submarine cable; the asphalt on the sheath layer 6 is cleaned by an asphalt cleaning agent, the sheath layer 6 is removed at a certain position by a ring cutter, the metal compression-resistant pipe 5 is removed at a certain position by a cutter, and the inner armor steel wire 4 is cut off by a steel wire cutter and left for a certain length. The submarine cable and the first clamping structure 21 are combined, the assorted file is used for circular cutting along the circumference of the optical unit 3, the optical fiber 2 is peeled, the dust-free cloth is used for gently wiping and removing redundant ointment on the optical fiber 2, and the optical fiber 2 is coiled and stored in the fiber storage device. The housing 10, the insulating sealing layer 19 is then sleeved outside the first clamping structure 21. Then, the outer armor wire 7 is wound on the sheath layer 6 again according to the winding direction of the submarine cable, the PE rope is used for tightly winding outside the outer armor wire 7, the outer armor wire 7 is cut by a fixed length through a wire shear, the outer armor wire 7 is sleeved into the second clamping structure 24, the outer armor wire 7 is fastened by a hydraulic pump in a slow pressurizing mode, and the outer armor wire 7 is locked with the shell 10 through the threaded sleeve 25 to prevent the second clamping structure 24 from loosening. The bend limiter 20 and the second clamping structure 24 are then connected, and the pulling cap 18 and the housing 10 are connected, completing the initial state assembly of the splice device.

The tensile force of two sea cables is transferred to the fiber storage device through the first clamping structure 21, the fiber storage devices on two sides are in butt joint in the middle, the transfer of tensile force is achieved, the fiber storage devices on two sides are optionally in butt joint through threaded connection, the fiber storage devices on two sides can be in butt joint through buckles, or the fiber storage devices on two sides are combined through other modes, and the fiber storage device is not limited herein.

By prefabricating on land, constructing the splicing device on water, only disassembling the traction cap 18, butting prefabricated parts of the submarine cable splicing devices at two ends, welding and coiling the optical fibers 2 in the fiber storage device, and testing the on-off state and the welding point loss of the optical fibers 2; the sealing ring 15 is used for realizing butt sealing, and then the connecting piece 12 is installed.

With reference to the embodiment of the optical cable splicing device at two ends, the device can be popularized to the branching device with three ends and more.

With respect to the above two-end solution, the situation is slightly more complicated, and in particular, in the two-end solution, the two housings 10 can be directly abutted, whereas in the three-end solution, the housings 10 do not need to be abutted, and the housings 10 are abutted with a multi-pass structure (such as a tee, a four-way, etc.), which is provided by the mounting structure.

For example, as shown in fig. 11, the housing includes at least three cases 10; the mounting structure comprises a butt joint member 26, the butt joint member 26 is a multi-pass structure, a hollow cavity is formed in the butt joint member 26, at least three butt joint portions are formed on the butt joint member 26, the butt joint portions correspond to one housing 10, and when each housing 10 is respectively butt-jointed to one of the butt joint portions, all the accommodating spaces 11 of the housing 10 and the hollow cavity jointly form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating a fiber storage device.

For three-terminal and above versions, the housing 10 may likewise be tongue and groove or flat.

For example, at least one of the housing 10 may have a flat end, at least one of the butt-jointed portions may have a flat end, and the end of the housing 10 may abut the butt-jointed portion to form a flat seam when the fiber storage cavity is formed;

for another example, at least one of the housing 10 may have a tongue-and-groove end, at least one of the abutting portions may have a tongue-and-groove end, and the housing 10 may have an end abutting the abutting portion end to form a tongue-and-groove joint when the fiber storage cavity is formed.

It can be seen that for three-terminal and above embodiments, the ends of each housing 10 may be all flat, all may be tongue-and-groove, or part of the ends of the housing 10 may be flat, and part of the ends of the housing 10 may be tongue-and-groove.

It will be appreciated that for the three-terminal and above arrangements, the manner of securing and sealing the housing 10 to the docking member 26 is fully referenced. For example, reference may be made to the securing and sealing modes of fig. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

As a specific example, referring to fig. 11, the mounting structure further includes a sleeve 17, and an outer surface of the abutting portion of the abutting member 26 is provided with external threads; the sleeve 17 is sleeved on the shell 10, an internal thread matched with the external thread is arranged on the sleeve 17, one end of the sleeve 17 is abutted against the end part of the shell 10 in the sleeve, and the other end of the sleeve 17 is in threaded connection with the abutting part.

It can be easily understood that the above-mentioned fixing manner and sealing manner of fig. 11 actually refers to the fixing manner and sealing manner of fig. 7 and 9.

It can be seen that for the three-terminal and above solutions, the fixing means and sealing means of the housing 10 and the abutment 26 are easily designed after understanding the fixing means and sealing means of the two-terminal solution.

Therefore, the fixing manner and the sealing manner of the three-terminal and other applicable manners of the above scheme are not described in detail.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the azimuth or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", etc. are based on the azimuth or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are merely for convenience of description of the present application and simplification of the description, and are not indicative or implying that the apparatus or element in question must have a specific azimuth, be configured and operated in a specific azimuth, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present application. Unless specifically stated or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "coupled" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the terms in this application will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as the case may be.

It should be noted that in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The foregoing is merely a specific embodiment of the application to enable one skilled in the art to understand or practice the application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An underwater optical cable connection device, characterized in that it comprises:

the optical cable fixing device comprises a shell and an optical cable fixing device, wherein the shell comprises at least two shells (10), one end of each shell (10) is provided with an accommodating space (11), and the other end of each shell is provided with an installation through hole which is communicated with the accommodating space (11) and is used for fixing the optical cable (1);

and the installation structure is used for connecting and fixing all the shells (10) so that the accommodating spaces (11) of all the shells (10) form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating a fiber storage device.

2. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

the ends of the two shells (10) are flat, and when the fiber storage cavity is formed, the ends of the two shells (10) are abutted to form a flat seam.

3. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 2 wherein:

the outer surface of the housing (10) is provided with a first configuration;

the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece (12), wherein two second structures (13) matched with the first structures are arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece (12);

the two shells (10) extend into the connecting piece (12) from two ends of the connecting piece (12) respectively and are abutted, and the two first structures are respectively clamped on the two second structures (13);

The connector (12) is fixed to the housing (10).

4. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 3 wherein:

the first configuration is one of a groove and a boss, and the second configuration (13) is the other of a groove and a boss;

and/or the connecting piece (12) comprises a plurality of locking units (14), and two adjacent locking units (14) are connected.

5. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 3 wherein:

a first sealing element is also arranged between the connecting element (12) and the housing (10).

6. An underwater optical cable connection device as in claim 5 wherein:

the first sealing member comprises a sealing ring (15), a part of the sealing ring (15) covers the outer surface of one of the shells (10) in the axial direction of the mounting through hole, and the other part of the sealing ring (15) covers the outer surface of the other shell (10);

and/or the first seal comprises at least two sealing rings (16), and at least one sealing ring (16) is arranged between each shell (10) and the connecting piece (12).

7. An underwater optical cable connection device as in claim 6 wherein:

The sealing ring (15) is a metal sealing ring, and the metal sealing ring is in interference fit with the shell (10);

or, a sealant is arranged between the sealing ring (15) and the outer surface of the shell (10).

8. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 2 wherein:

external threads are arranged on the two shells (10), and the spiral directions are opposite;

the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece (12), wherein an internal thread matched with the external thread is arranged on the inner surface of the connecting piece (12);

the two shells (10) extend into the connecting piece (12) from two ends of the connecting piece (12) respectively and are abutted, and the two shells (10) are in threaded connection with the connecting piece (12).

9. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 2 wherein:

the mounting structure comprises a connecting piece (12) and two sleeves (17);

external threads are arranged at two ends of the outer surface of the connecting piece (12);

the two shells (10) respectively extend into the connecting piece (12) from two ends of the connecting piece (12) and are abutted;

the two sleeves (17) are respectively sleeved on the two shells (10), the sleeves (17) are provided with internal threads matched with the external threads, one ends of the sleeves (17) are abutted with the end parts of the shells (10) in the sleeves, and the other ends of the sleeves are in threaded connection with the connecting pieces (12).

10. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 8 or 9 wherein:

11. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 10 wherein:

the first seal comprises at least two sealing rings (16), and at least one sealing ring (16) is arranged between each shell (10) and the connecting piece (12).

12. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 2 wherein:

the mounting structure comprises a sleeve (17), an internal thread and an external thread matched with the internal thread;

wherein the sleeve (17) is sleeved on one of the two shells (10), the internal thread is arranged on the inner surface of the sleeve (17), and the external thread is arranged on the outer surface of the other of the two shells (10);

one end of the sleeve (17) is abutted with the end part of the shell (10) in the sleeve, and the other end of the sleeve is in threaded connection with the other shell (10).

13. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 12 wherein:

a first seal is provided between the inner surface of the sleeve (17) and the outer surface of the housing (10).

14. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 13 wherein:

the first sealing piece is a sealing ring (15), one part of the sealing ring (15) covers the outer surface of one shell (10) in the axial direction of the mounting through hole, and the other part of the sealing ring (15) covers the outer surface of the other shell (10);

and/or the first seal comprises at least two sealing rings (16), and at least one sealing ring (16) is arranged between each shell (10) and the sleeve (17).

15. An underwater optical cable connection as in claims 8, 9 or 12 wherein:

and sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread.

16. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

the ends of the two shells (10) are rabbets, and when the fiber storage cavity is formed, the ends of the two shells (10) are abutted to form a rabbet joint.

17. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 16 wherein:

the mounting structure comprises an internal thread and an external thread matched with the internal thread;

wherein the internal thread is arranged on a tongue-and-groove of one of the two shells (10), and the external thread is arranged on a tongue-and-groove of the other of the two shells (10);

The two shells (10) are in threaded connection.

18. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 16 wherein:

19. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 16 wherein:

the outer surface of the housing (10) is provided with a first configuration;

the two shells (10) extend into the connecting piece (12) from two ends of the connecting piece (12) respectively, and the two first structures are clamped on the two second structures (13) respectively;

the connector (12) is fixed to the housing (10).

20. An underwater optical cable connection as in any one of claims 17 to 19 wherein:

a first sealing element is also arranged between the rabbets of the two shells (10).

21. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 20 wherein:

the first seal comprises one or more of a sealing ring (16) and a sealant.

22. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 17 or 18 wherein:

and sealant is arranged between the external thread and the internal thread.

23. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 19 wherein:

24. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

the housing (10) is further provided with a traction cap (18) for detachable mounting on the housing (10);

and/or, a fiber storage device is arranged in the accommodating space (11), and an insulating sealing layer (19) is arranged between the fiber storage device and the shell (10);

And/or, the shell (10) is also connected with a bending limiter (20).

25. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

a first clamping structure (21) for fixing the inner armor wires (4) of the optical cable (1) is arranged in the shell (10) at the installation through hole.

26. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 25 wherein:

and a colloid (22) or a wedge-shaped structure for fixing the inner armor steel wire (4) is arranged in the first clamping structure (21).

27. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

a second sealing element is arranged between the shell (10) and the sheath layer (6) of the optical cable (1).

28. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 27 wherein:

the second sealing piece comprises one or more of a heat shrinkage pipe (23) and a sealing ring (16).

29. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

the outer part of the shell (10) is provided with a second clamping structure (24) for clamping and fixing the outer armor wires (7) of the optical cable (1) on the shell (10).

30. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 29 wherein:

the shell (10) and the second clamping structure (24) are sleeved with a threaded sleeve (25), one end of the threaded sleeve (25) is abutted to the second clamping structure (24), and the other end of the threaded sleeve is in threaded connection with the shell (10).

31. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 1 wherein:

the housing comprises at least three shells (10);

the installation structure comprises a butt joint piece (26), wherein a hollow cavity is formed in the butt joint piece (26), at least three butt joint parts are formed on the butt joint piece (26) and are in butt joint with the shell (10), and when each shell (10) is respectively in butt joint with one of the butt joint parts, all the accommodating spaces (11) of the shells (10) and the hollow cavity jointly form a fiber storage cavity for accommodating a fiber storage device.

32. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 31 wherein:

the end part of at least one shell (10) is flat, the end part of at least one butt joint part is flat, and when the fiber storage cavity is formed, the end part of the shell (10) is abutted with the end part of the butt joint part to form a flat joint;

and/or, the end part of at least one of the shells (10) is a tongue-and-groove, the end part of at least one butt joint part is a tongue-and-groove, and when the fiber storage cavity is formed, the end part of the shell (10) is abutted with the end part of the butt joint part to form a tongue-and-groove joint.

33. An underwater optical cable connection as in claim 32 wherein:

The mounting structure further comprises a sleeve (17);

the outer surface of the abutting part (26) is provided with external threads;

the sleeve (17) is sleeved on the shell (10), an internal thread matched with the external thread is arranged on the sleeve (17), one end of the sleeve (17) is abutted to the end part of the shell (10) in the sleeve, and the other end of the sleeve is in threaded connection with the abutting part.