US 12,313,894 B2
Optical fiber cable and optical fiber unit
Fumiaki Sato, Osaka (JP); Yohei Suzuki, Osaka (JP); and Yuuki Shimoda, Osaka (JP)
Assigned to SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., Osaka (JP)
Appl. No. 18/003,400
Filed by SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., Osaka (JP)
PCT Filed Oct. 29, 2021, PCT No. PCT/JP2021/039970
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 27, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/092251, PCT Pub. Date May 5, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-182420 (JP), filed on Oct. 30, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0251445 A1, Aug. 10, 2023
Int. Cl. G02B 6/44 (2006.01)
CPC G02B 6/44384 (2023.05) [G02B 6/4403 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical fiber cable comprising:
a plurality of optical fibers;
a plurality of water-absorbent fibers; and
a sheath covering a periphery of the plurality of optical fibers and the plurality of water-absorbent fibers, wherein
a ratio of areas of the water-absorbent fibers to an area of an accommodating portion in an inner side of the sheath in a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the optical fiber cable is 1% or more and 5% or less, and
a maximum value of an area of a gap portion surrounded by the optical fibers in the cross section is 1.0 mm2 or less, wherein
an internal porosity obtained by dividing an internal gap area, which is obtained by subtracting areas of the plurality of optical fibers in the cross section from an area of the accommodating portion in the inner side of the sheath in the cross section, by the area of the accommodating portion is 30% or more and 50% or less, and wherein
each of the optical fibers has an outer diameter of 220 μm or less.