Patent US5046815A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
US5046815A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Optical fiber cabling

Assignee: Corning Inc
•
Filing: 1990-05-17
•
Granted: 1991-09-10
•
Expires: 2010-05-17
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract Plastic ducts suitable for use alone or as components of telecommunications cables to provide for easy installation of optical fibers by blow-in methods, together with optical cable designs incorporating such ducts, are described. The ducts, most preferably provided as plastic tubes, are characterized by inner sidewall compositions of a modified polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based compound, the compound consisting at least predominantly of PVC polymer but additionally containing up to about 20% by weight of fluorocarbon polymers compounded directly with the PVC.

Inventors

  • 👤 Michael B. Cain
  • 👤 Rengan Kannabiran
  • 👤 Emily M. Squires

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-07 18:29
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/46; G02B6/50; G02B6/52; G02B6/44; G02B6/4401; G02B6/4415; G02B6/4416; G02B6/4429; G02B6/4438; G02B6/4439; G02B6/4459; G02B6/4479; G02B6/4485

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim 46 words
A telecommunications cable comprising at least one plastic duct adapted for the blow-in installation of one or more coated low-loss optical fibers, wherein at least the inner sidewall of the duct consists predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer which comprises 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 46 words
A telecommunications cable comprising at least one plastic duct adapted for the blow-in installation of one or more coated low-loss optical fibers, wherein at least the inner sidewall of the duct consists predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer which comprises 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
A telecommunications cable in accordance with claim 1 wherein the plastic duct is an extruded plastic tube composed predominantly of polyvinyl chloride and containing 0.5-20% by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 18 words
A telecommunications cable in accordance with claim 2 wherein the plastic tube contains 1-8 low-loss glass optical fibers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 31 words
A telecommunications cable in accordance with claim 2 which comprises, in combination with the plastic tube, one or more copper wires for the transmission of electrical voice or data telecommunication signals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 26 words
A telecommunications cable in accordance with claim 3 wherein at least one of the low-loss optical fibers comprises an outer plastic coating of foamed polyvinyl chloride.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 35 words
A plastic duct for the containment of one or more coated optical fibers, the duct having an inner sidewall composition consisting predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer and containing 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 35 words
A plastic duct for the containment of one or more coated optical fibers, the duct having an inner sidewall composition consisting predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer and containing 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 29 words
A plastic duct in accordance with claim 6 which is an extruded plastic tube composed at least predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer and containing 0.5-20% by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 30 words
A plastic duct in accordance with claim 6 wherein the inner sidewall is provided as a layer of a polyvinyl chloride compound containing 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 56 words
In combination, a plastic duct having an inner sidewall composition consisting predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer with at least one optical fiber or cable disposed in loose containment within the duct, wherein the inner sidewall composition includes 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer and the optical fiber or cable comprises a textured plastic outer coating.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 56 words
In combination, a plastic duct having an inner sidewall composition consisting predominantly of polyvinyl chloride polymer with at least one optical fiber or cable disposed in loose containment within the duct, wherein the inner sidewall composition includes 0.5-20% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer and the optical fiber or cable comprises a textured plastic outer coating.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 16 words
The combination of claim 9 wherein the textured plastic coating is composed of foamed polyvinyl chloride.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4691896A Cited
US4796970A Cited
US4691896C1 Cited
EP0157610A2 Cited
GB2156837A Cited
US4781433A Cited
US4723831A Cited
US4881794A Cited
US4818060A Cited
GB2206420A Cited
GB2206220A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1994-09-09 1995-03-11 1995-09-10 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1998-09-09 1999-03-11 1999-09-10 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2002-09-09 2003-03-11 2003-09-10 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag