Pressure resistant submarine optical fiber cable

Claim 1

A submarine, telecommunication cable comprising: an axially disposed and extending armor comprising a strand of wires, said armor having a size and strength sufficient to withstand tension stresses which are applied to the cable during laying and raising thereof into and out of water; a plurality of tubes helically wound around said armor in circumferentially spaced relation to each other; a plurality of electrical conductors helically wound around said armor with at least one electrical conductor intermediate each pair of said plurality of tubes, each said electrical conductor being a solid metallic body which is substantially incompressible under the cable operation pressures and which is substantially homogeneous in cross-section and each said tube being between and in contact with a pair of said conductors adjacent thereto so as to be supported by said pair of conductors; a substantially incompressible fluid filling any otherwise empty spaces within said armor including any spaces between said wires; at least one optical fiber loosely receive in each of said tubes; a substantially incompressible fluid filling the spaces between the interior of said tubes and said optical fibers; a layer of plastic material around said tubes and said electrical conductors, the innermost surface of said layer of plastic material contacting said tubes and said electrical conductors without filling spaces intermediate said tubes and said armor and intermediate said conductors and said armor; a substantially incompressible fluid filling any otherwise empty spaces within said layer of plastic material including any otherwise empty spaces intermediate said tubes and said armor and intermediate said conductors and said armor; and said cable being without armor externally of said layer of plastic material, and hence around said tubes, which, by itself, can withstand teh mechanical stresses to which the cable is subjected in use.