光カールコードを用いた住宅内光配線方法に関する検討

Abstract

We have developed a new wiring system for home networks without the need to use a jointing tool or to deal with excess fiber length. Optical fiber curl cord is the key component of the system. This cord has a spiral structure, which makes it possible for the cord to stretch or contract without any loss increase. This is because it is made of a hole-assisted fiber with a low bending loss. We can employ this characteristic to realize a flexible wiring system. Optical fiber curl cord can be stretched considerably. For example, a cord with a curl length of 1 m and a curl diameter of 16 mm can be stretched to nearly 20 m. This means that we can use an optical fiber curl cord with a fixed length (here 1 m) to wire an optical home network of any length (here <20 m). To prove the feasibility of this idea, we undertook experiments where we installed optical fiber curl cord in ducts in various situations and created a calculation model to simulate wiring it through duct. This model worked well and we confirmed that it is possible to pull a 16 mm diameter curl cord with an SC connector through a 22 mm diameter pipe in any situation. And if we use this method to construct an optical home network, the workability will be greatly improved. This may be an effective way to reduce construction costs.