JP2011023274A - Communication cable - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a communication cable that prevents cable identification information printed on an outer surface of a sheath from being damaged or peeled off.
Communication cables 1 and 2 according to the present invention are obtained by covering the outer periphery of cable cores 11 and 21 containing a plurality of signal lines and the like with sheaths 12 and 22 and forming grooves on the outer surfaces of the sheaths 12 and 22. The identification information for identifying the communication cable is printed in the recesses. The recesses are formed continuously or intermittently along the longitudinal direction of the communication cable, and a plurality of recesses may be formed in a spiral or SZ shape. The depth of the recesses 13 and 23 is preferably 10% or more of the thickness of the sheath.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication cable, and more particularly to a communication cable having cable identification information printed on a sheath.

  A communication cable such as an electric communication cable or an optical communication cable is provided with a mark for identifying the cable, characters, and the like for maintenance of the laying line. As identification information such as marks and characters, it is known to print a company name, a product name, a serial number, etc. for identifying a communication cable on the outer surface of a communication cable sheath (insulating outer skin member) (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-109969 A

  By the way, in an area where buildings are crowded, an optical communication cable is often laid in an underground pipeline. In this case, in order to effectively use the underground pipeline, a plurality of optical communication cables are installed in the same pipeline. When the optical communication cable is laid, the cables may rub against each other, or the cable and the inner wall surface of the pipe may rub against each other. As a result, the cable identification information printed on the outer surface of the sheath may be damaged or peeled off, making it difficult to identify the cable. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, even if a plurality of identification symbols are attached to the cable sheath, interpretation may be difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication cable that prevents the cable identification information printed on the outer surface of the sheath from being damaged or peeled off.

  The communication cable according to the present invention is such that the outer periphery of a cable core containing a plurality of signal lines and the like is covered with a sheath, and has a groove-like recess on the outer surface of the sheath, and the identification information for identifying the communication cable in the recess Is printed. The concave portions are formed continuously or intermittently along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of the concave portions may be formed in a spiral or SZ shape. The depth of the recess is preferably 10% or more of the thickness of the sheath.

  According to the present invention, even if the cables are rubbed together when laying the communication cable, the portion on which the cable identification information is printed is less likely to come into contact with other cables, so that the cable identification information can be prevented from being damaged and peeled off. The cable identification can be ensured.

It is a figure explaining an example of the cable for communication by this invention. It is a figure explaining the other example of the cable for communication by this invention. It is a figure explaining the recessed part formed in the sheath of the cable for communication by this invention.

  FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a communication cable according to the present invention. Hereinafter, an optical communication cable will be described as an example of the communication cable. The communication cable 1 includes a cable core 11 and a sheath (also referred to as a jacket) 12 that covers the cable core 11. The cable core 11 is composed of a slot (also referred to as a spacer) provided with a plurality of slot grooves in which the optical fiber cores are accommodated, and a presser tape (not shown) is wound around the outer periphery of the slot. The sheath 12 is made of a resin such as black polyethylene and covers the cable core 11.

  On the outer surface of the sheath 12, a groove-like recess 13 is continuously formed without a break along the longitudinal direction of the communication cable 1. Cable identification information 14 is printed on the bottom surface 13 a of the recess 13. In the illustrated example, “COMMUNICATION CABLE A1” is printed as the cable identification information.

The cable identification information can be printed by a known printing method such as an ink jet printer, a stamp, or roll printing. When the cable identification information is printed on the bottom surface portion 13a of the concave portion 13 by the ink jet printer, the head portion of the ink jet printer may be aligned with the bottom surface portion 13a of the concave portion 13 and moved along the longitudinal direction of the communication cable.
In this way, by printing the cable identification information on the bottom surface of the recess, for example, even if the cables rub against each other when laying the communication cable, the bottom surface of the recess on which the cable identification information is printed is another cable. This makes it possible to prevent the cable identification information from being damaged and peeled off.

The recess 13 of the communication cable 1 shown in FIG. 1A is continuously formed over both ends of the cable, but may be formed intermittently. FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a communication cable in which concave portions are formed intermittently. The communication cable 2 includes a cable core 21, a sheath 22 and the like, as described with reference to FIG. A plurality of groove-like recesses 23 are intermittently formed on the outer surface of the sheath 22 along the longitudinal direction of the communication cable 1. Cable identification information 24 is printed on the bottom surface 23 a of the recess 23.
Thus, by printing the cable identification information on the bottom surface of the recess, the cable identification information can be prevented from being soiled and peeled off.

  In addition, various recesses can be formed. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of another communication cable of the present invention. The communication cable 3 includes a cable core 31, a sheath 32, and the like. On the outer surface of the sheath 32, a plurality of groove-shaped recesses 33 are formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction of the communication cable 3. In addition, cable identification information 34 is printed in the recess 33 along the longitudinal direction. The cable identification information 34 is printed not only on the bottom surface portion 33 a of the concave portion 33 but also on the top portion 33 b of the concave portion 33.

  The cable identification information printed on the top 33b may be peeled off, for example, when the cables rub against each other when the communication cable is laid. However, the part that peels off is limited to the vicinity of the top portion 33b, so that the cable cannot be identified at all. Also, with this communication cable, as described with reference to FIG. 1, it is not necessary to accurately position the inkjet printer head so that identification information is printed on the bottom surface of the recess, and the manufacturing process can be simplified. Can do.

  Although a plurality of recesses of the communication cable 3 shown in FIG. 2A are formed in a spiral shape, a plurality of recesses may be formed in an SZ shape. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a communication cable in which a plurality of recesses are formed in an SZ shape. The communication cable 4 includes a cable core 41, a sheath 42, and the like. On the outer surface of the sheath 42, a plurality of groove-like recesses 43 are formed in an SZ shape along the longitudinal direction of the communication cable 4. In addition, cable identification information 44 is printed in the recess 43 along the longitudinal direction. The cable identification information 44 is printed not only on the bottom surface portion 43 a of the concave portion 43 but also on the top portion 43 b of the concave portion 43.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the communication cable 1 shown in FIG. The distance between the bottommost portion 13a 'and the ceiling surface 13b in the bottom surface portion 13a of the recess 13, that is, the depth d1 of the recess 13 is depressed in the recess 13 even if the cables overlap each other as indicated by a dashed line C. The surface (bottom surface portion 13a) is formed to such a depth that it does not contact or rub against each other. Specifically, the depth d1 of the recess 13 is preferably 10% or more of the thickness d2 of the sheath 12. For example, since the standard sheath thickness is about 1.5 mm, in this case, the depth d1 of the recess 13 is preferably about 0.15 mm or more. Although the bottom surface portion 13a of the recess 13 is shown as an example of a U-shape, it may be planar. The same applies to the recesses of the other communication cables (2 to 4).

  By forming a recess as described above and printing communication cable identification information in the recess, for example, even if cables rub against each other when laying a communication cable, the cable identification information is prevented from being damaged or peeled off. it can. In the above embodiment, the optical communication cable is exemplified as the communication cable. However, the present invention can be applied to a communication cable other than the optical communication cable, for example, a telecommunication cable.

1,2,3,4: Communication cable, 11,21,31,41 ... Cable core, 12,22,32,42 ... Sheath, 13,23,33,43 ... Recess, 13a, 23a, 33a, 43a ... bottom part, 13a '... bottommost part of bottom part, 13b ... ceiling face, 14, 24, 34, 44 ... cable identification information, 33b, 43b ... top part.

Claims (4)

A cable for communication in which the outer periphery of a cable core containing a plurality of signal lines and the like is covered with a sheath,
A communication cable having a groove-like recess on an outer surface of the sheath, and identification information for identifying the communication cable printed on the recess.   The communication cable according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed continuously or intermittently along a longitudinal direction of the cable.   The communication cable according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the concave portions are formed in a spiral shape or an SZ shape.   The communication cable according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the depth of the recess is 10% or more of the thickness of the sheath.

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