Joining two optical fiber submarine cable ends

Claim 1

Junction between two optical fiber submarine cable ends capable of maintaining a water-tight connection while under high pressure conditions on the ocean bottom and capable of insuring mechanical continuity while being subjected to high tensile stress during submarine cable laying, where each cable comprises an axial compartment housing the optical fibers, an armoring of steel wires helically wound around said compartment, a copper tube swaged over the armoring, and an outside insulating jacket, said junction comprising: (a) a center section comprising: (i) a mandrel, the ends of the optical fibers being wound around the mandrel and being fused or connected to one another individually, said mandrel having a center through-hole, the ends of the axial compartments housing the optical fibers being inserted within said center through-hole, (ii) a sleeve of high-strength metal surrounding the mandrel with some play, both ends of said sleeve being internally threaded, (b) a lateral section comprising, on each side of the center section, (i) an anchoring part at least partly made of high-strength metal, having a conical bore on the side facing the center section, said steel armoring wires inserted therein, said anchoring part on the opposite side, having a larger-diameter cylindrical bore, the copper tube and the outside insulating jacket being secured therewithin, and said anchoring part being threaded over part of its outside area and assembled with the internal threading of the sleeve end, (ii) a conical ring positioned within said conical bore of said anchoring part and flaring and securing the steel wires of the armoring therebetween, said conical ring having an axial through-hole, said axial through-hole receiving the optical fibers, (iii) a hard-setting synthetic resin filler occupying the free space between the inside surface of the anchoring part and the outside surface of the conical flaring ring, around the ends of the steel armoring wires, and (iiii) a hood made of synthetic resin surrounding the end of the anchoring part, for connecting to the cable jacket; whereby, said junction between said submarine cable ends has improved connection reliability and water-tightness.

Claim 8

A method for assembling a junction for joining the ends of two optical fiber submarine cable ends, comprising the steps of: (a) eliminating the steel wires of the armoring, as well as the shrink fitted copper tube and the outside jacket of the cable ends from the junction area over a length which is notably greater than that required for said device, thus baring the optical fibers, (b) engaging the hoods of synthetic resin, the anchoring parts and the metal sleeve one after the other on the ends of the optical fiber cables, (c) cutting the steel armoring wires, the swaged copper tube and the jacket to the length required for the device, (d) introducing a certain amount of hard-setting synthetic resin filler into the conical part of the tapered-cylindrical bore of the anchoring parts and flaring the ends of the steel armoring wires inside said conical part, (e) inserting the conical parts used to flare the steel armoring wires into the anchoring parts; filling the entire space included between the anchoring parts, the ends of the steel armoring wires and the conical flaring parts with synthetic resin filler, and following by heating the whole assembly to harden the synthetic resin, (f) fusing the optical fibers to be connected and winding their slack in relation to the length of the device around the mandrel or tube, (g) pulling the sleeve back over the center section of the device and screwing the sleeve onto the two anchoring parts, and (h) sliding back the hoods of synthetic resin until they come into contact with the metal sleeve.

Claim 9

A method for assembling a junction for joining the ends of two optical fiber submarine cable ends, comprising the steps of: (a) eliminating the steel wires of the armoring, as well as the shrink fitted copper tube and the outside jacket of the cable ends from the junction area over a length which is notably greater than that required for said device, thus baring the optical fibers, (b) engaging the hoods of synthetic resin, the anchoring parts and the metal sleeve one after the other on the ends of the optical fiber cables, (c) cutting the steel armoring wires, the swaged copper tube and the jacket to the length required for the device, (d) introducing a certain amount of hard-setting synthetic resin filler into the conical part of the tapered-cylindrical bore of the anchoring parts and flaring the ends of the steel armoring wires inside said conical part, (e) inserting the conical parts used to flare the steel armoring wires into the anchoring parts; filling the entire space included between the anchoring parts, the ends of the steel armoring wires and the conical flaring parts with synthetic resin filler, and following by heating the whole assembly to harden the synthetic resin, (f) fusing the optical fibers to be connected and winding their slack in relation to the length of the device around the mandrel or tube, (g) pulling the sleeve back over the center section of the device and screwing the sleeve onto the two anchoring parts, and (h) sliding back the hoods of synthetic resin until they come into contact with the metal sleeve.