Water blocked cable portion and methods of making same

Claim 1

A water blocked optical fiber cable portion, which comprises: a core comprising at least one optical fiber; a longitudinally extending tube in which said core is disposed and from which an end portion of said core extends; a longitudinally extending inner jacket coaxially disposed about said tube and from which an end portion of the tube extends; a longitudinally extending metallic shield coaxially disposed about said inner jacket; means including a ground wire connected to said shield for establishing a ground connection to said shield; a longitudinally extending outer jacket which is coaxially disposed about said metallic shield and from which an end portion of said metallic shield extends; a water blocking material disposed about an outer surface of an end portion of said outer jacket adjacent to said end portion of said metallic shield; a disc of plastic material disposed adjacent to said end portion of said metallic shield and having openings through which said tube and ground wire extend; and a plastic membrane disposed about a cable end portion and in compressive engagement with said water blocking material and said disc wherein the compressive engagement of the plastic membrane is effective to provide a water blocking seal between a portion of an inner surface of said plastic membrane and an outer surface of said disc and between a portion of an inner surface of said plastic membrane and a portion of said outer surface of said outer jacket.