JPS6257963B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a submarine optical cable tying device that is safe even when the cable at the end of the repeater wrapped around a drum or sheave is bent to an extreme extent, and also allows cable laying and hauling work to be carried out safely. Regarding. Recently, with the advent of optical fibers, technology development for energy transmission and information transmission using optical fibers has been actively conducted. No specific example of a device has been shown yet regarding the anchorage device between the submarine optical repeater and the submarine optical repeater that relays it. For this reason, the present invention improves the workability of wrapping around drums and sheaves during installation work by making the allowable radius of curvature of the connection part between the submarine optical cable and the submarine optical repeater smaller than the allowable radius of curvature of the cable. , aims to provide a highly safe submarine optical cable tying device, in which a submarine optical cable is tied to a submarine optical repeater, using a flexible optical cable between the cable and the submarine optical repeater. It is characterized by transmitting cable tension directly from the cable to the repeater via a tensile strength member placed along the outer circumference of the cable. Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows the basic structure of the embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a submarine optical repeater moored to the seabed and connects and relays submarine optical cables 2 ; This submarine optical repeater 1
A flexible optical cable 3 is guided through a connecting portion 4 . As shown in FIG. 2, the structure of the submarine optical cable 2 is such that a tensile strength body 2b surrounding a tensile strength wire is disposed inside an outer skin 2a made of polyethylene or the like.
A fiber storage pipe 2c for both water pressure resistance and power supply is arranged inside the tensile strength member 2b, and a large number of optical fibers 2 are twisted around the fiber assembly center line 2d inside the fiber storage pipe 2c.
It is configured by arranging e. In addition, while the allowable bending radius of the submarine optical cable 2 is large because it is determined by the buckling of the straight fiber storage pipe 2c, in the flexible optical cable 3 ,
Since the allowable radius of curvature is small due to the cross-sectional shape and thin wall of the corrugated pipe 3b, the allowable radius of curvature as a cable is also small. Therefore, even if the submarine optical repeater 1 is a rigid type without a self-pressure joint and the end cable of the repeater is extremely bent when wrapped around a drum or sheave, the safety of the cable cannot be maintained. It is possible, and making the submarine optical repeater 1 a rigid type is extremely advantageous in terms of making the repeater 1 smaller and lighter, making it more economical, and improving the reliability of the system. In addition, the flexible optical cable 3 is the submarine optical cable 2.
A thin-walled corrugated pipe 3b with a corrugated cross section that exhibits flexibility is arranged inside a PE-coated outer skin 3a, and this corrugated pipe 3b is formed to have the same diameter as
A water pressure resistant protector 3c made of piano wire tightly wound into a coil is disposed inside the water pressure resistant protector 3c, and an optical fiber 2e is inserted through the water pressure resistant protector 3c. The submarine optical cable 2 and the flexible optical cable 3 are joined by butting their respective end faces, and the fiber housing pipe 2c is made to protrude inside the flexible optical cable 3 , and is welded or bonded to the protector 3c. The corrugated pipe 3b and the fiber storage pipe 2c are connected by welding or bonding to ensure strong airtightness between the two. Therefore, the submarine optical cable 2 and the flexible optical cable 3 have different bendable radii of curvature corresponding to the fiber storage pipe 2c and the corrugated pipe 3b disposed inside. In addition, 5 is an exterior tensile strength body formed by winding a tensile strength wire around the circumferential surface of the submarine optical cable 2 and the flexible optical cable 3 , and the exterior length is configured to be sufficiently long along the submarine optical cable 2 ; A binding wire 7 is wound on the exterior tensile strength member 5, and a retaining metal fitting 7 is provided at the end of the submarine optical repeater 1. Since the submarine optical cable anchoring device of the present invention is configured as described above, information converted into electrical light from one end of the submarine optical cable propagates inside the core forming the optical path of the optical fiber 2e and travels through the optical transmission path. The signal is then converted to electricity and reproduced at the other end of the submarine cable. On the other hand, the cable tension applied to the submarine optical cable 2 is transferred to the outer tensile strength member 5 fixed to the outer circumference of the submarine optical cable 2 by the binding wire 6, and if the outer tensile strength member 5 along the submarine optical cable 2 is made sufficiently long. Therefore, at the connection portion 4 between the flexible optical cable 3 and the submarine optical cable 2 , all cable tension has been transferred to the exterior tensile strength member 5. Further, the tension of the exterior tensile strength member 5 is transmitted to the submarine optical repeater 1 by the retaining fitting 7. Also, situations where large bending forces are applied to the cable and repeater connections only occur when the repeater is on board the laying vessel during installation or salvage. Naturally, no water pressure is applied to the connection at this time. Therefore, even if the pressure-resistant protector tightly wound in a spiral is bent and a gap is created at that portion, the thin-walled watertight pipe will not be damaged and there will be no problem. On the other hand, after the repeater reaches the bottom of the seabed, no tension or bending force is applied to the cable, so the pressure protector returns to a straight line due to its elasticity, becoming tightly wound with no gaps. As a result, the thin-walled watertight pipe on the corrugated outer periphery is prevented from buckling or deforming due to water pressure by supporting it from the inside, and overall exhibits water pressure resistant and watertight functions and protects the internal signal line. be able to. FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a binding wire 6 is further provided on exterior tensile strength members 5a and 5b in which tensile strength wires are spirally wound around the peripheral surfaces of a submarine optical cable 2 and a flexible optical cable 3 . It is characterized by being wrapped to strongly prevent the generation of torque due to cable tension. FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the present invention, in which a braided exterior tensile strength member 5c made of high tensile strength fibers such as carbon fiber is disposed on the circumferential surface of the submarine optical cable 2 and the flexible optical cable 3 . It is characterized in that the binding wire 6 is wrapped around the tensile strength member 5c to reduce the bending rigidity of the cable at the end of the repeater and improve the winding characteristics of the repeater around the drum and sheave. As described above, the present invention electrically and optically connects a submarine optical cable and a submarine optical repeater using a cable with good flexibility and a small allowable radius of curvature that includes a thin-walled corrugated pipe, and Since the optical fiber assembly is housed in a corrugated pipe and the cable tension is transmitted to the repeater by a tensile strength member wrapped around the outer circumference of the submarine optical cable, the cable at the end of the repeater wrapped around the drum and sheave is extremely bent. The cable can be maintained safely even when the cable is in use, and therefore the cable installation and pulling work can be carried out safely. Further, such a configuration allows the repeater to be made into a rigid integrated type, which is extremely advantageous in terms of making the repeater smaller and lighter, making it more economical, and improving the reliability of the system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the basic structure of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the structure of an exterior tensile strength member according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing the structure of an exterior tensile strength member according to still another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Submarine optical repeater, 2 ... Submarine optical cable,
2e...Optical fiber, 3 ...Flexible optical cable,
3b...corrugated pipe, 5...exterior tensile strength body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a restraining device for a submarine optical cable and a submarine optical repeater, the end of a pressure-resistant protector tightly wound in a spiral shape is connected to the end of a fiber storage pipe that stores the submarine optical cable inside, and the above-mentioned protection is A submarine optical cable anchoring device, characterized in that a thin-walled watertight corrugated pipe with a wavy cross section is arranged around the outer circumference of the body, and an end of the corrugated pipe is connected to an end of the fiber storage pipe. .