Patents by Inventor Ken Osato

Ken Osato has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240134140
    Abstract: An optical fiber ribbon includes: optical fibers disposed side by side in a predetermined direction; and connecting portions that connect two adjacent ones of the optical fibers. A peripheral resin portion is formed on a periphery of the optical fibers. An arithmetic mean roughness Ra of a surface of the peripheral resin portion is 0.41 ?m or lower. A ten-point mean roughness Rz of a surface of the peripheral resin portion is 1.4 ?m or lower.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2023
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshie Murakoshi, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20240134137
    Abstract: A cable that protects an object includes a sheath and a cylindrical reinforcement member disposed inside the sheath and that surrounds the object. The cylindrical reinforcement member has a first side edge and a second side edge that extend in a longitudinal direction. The cylindrical reinforcement member is formed of a cable reinforcement sheet including a first metal sheet and a second metal sheet joined to the first metal sheet. A portion of the first metal sheet overlaps a portion of the second metal sheet, and the overlapping portions define a joint portion where the first metal sheet and the second metal sheet are joined. The joint portion is inclined, from the second side edge to the first side edge, toward the first metal sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2024
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Namazue, Tomoaki Kaji, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11927803
    Abstract: An optical fiber arrangement method includes: preparing an intermittently connected optical fiber ribbon including optical fibers arranged side by side at a first pitch larger than a fiber diameter; holding a non-connecting region of the optical fiber ribbon with a holder, where connecting portions intermittently connect the optical fibers extending out from the holder to each other; changing a width of the optical fiber ribbon in an interior of the holder; and arranging the optical fibers, extending out from the holder, with intervals of the optical fibers changed from the first pitch to a second pitch smaller than the first pitch by removing the connecting portions in a state where the holder is holding the optical fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Soichiro Kaneko, Koji Tomikawa, Ken Osato, Noriaki Yamashita
  • Patent number: 11921341
    Abstract: An optical cable includes: twisted optical fiber units each including a fiber group formed by optical fibers. At least one of the optical fiber units includes a filling that wraps an outer circumference of the fiber group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignees: Fujikura Ltd., NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masatoshi Ohno, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato, Yusuke Yamada, Yuta Maruo, Akira Sakurai, Shigekatsu Tetsutani, Hiroaki Tanioka
  • Patent number: 11921336
    Abstract: An optical fiber protective unit includes: a reticulated tube; and a tubular member that is inserted through the reticulated tube and that is configured to accommodate a plurality of optical fibers. The reticulated tube is disposed on an outer periphery of the tubular member in a state folded in a longitudinal direction. Both end parts of the reticulated tube are located on the outer periphery of the tubular member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Go Taki, Masayuki Ishioka, Mizuki Isaji, Tomoaki Kaji, Soichiro Kaneko, Koji Tomikawa, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20240053562
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable includes: a core including optical fibers; a reinforcing wrap that surrounds the core; and a sheath that accommodates the core and the reinforcing wrap. The reinforcing wrap includes an overlapping portion. A first end portion of the reinforcing wrap overlaps a second end portion of the reinforcing wrap at a portion of the reinforcing wrap in a circumferential direction of the optical fiber cable in a cross-sectional view.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2023
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoaki Kaji, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20240053559
    Abstract: An optical cable includes an optical fiber, an outer sheath that houses the optical fiber, and a tubular reinforcement sheet disposed between the optical fiber and the outer sheath. In a cross section perpendicular to a length direction of the optical cable, an adhesive strength between the tubular reinforcement sheet and the outer sheath in a first zone is stronger than an adhesive strength between the tubular reinforcement sheet and the outer sheath in a second zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2022
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinnosuke Sato, Daisuke Hikima, Daiki Takeda, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11899259
    Abstract: A cable that protects an object includes: a sheath; and a cylindrical reinforcement member disposed inside the sheath and that surrounds the object. The cylindrical reinforcement member has a first side edge and a second side edge that extend in a longitudinal direction. The cylindrical reinforcement member is formed of a cable reinforcement sheet including: a first metal sheet; and a second metal sheet joined to the first metal sheet. A portion of the first metal sheet overlaps a portion of the second metal sheet, and the overlapping portions define a joint portion where the first metal sheet and the second metal sheet are joined. The joint portion is inclined, from the second side edge to the first side edge, toward the first metal sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Namazue, Tomoaki Kaji, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11899266
    Abstract: [Problem] When a surface of the optical fiber ribbon is rough, the microbending loss is increased due to the irregularities formed on the surface of the optical fiber ribbon. [Solution] An intermittently connected optical fiber ribbon of the present disclosure, includes: a plurality of optical fibers arranged in a predetermined direction; and connecting portions that intermittently connect two adjacent ones of the optical fibers. A peripheral cover portion formed of resin configuring the connecting portions is formed on a periphery of the optical fibers. An arithmetic mean roughness Ra of a surface of the peripheral cover portion is 0.41 ?m or lower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshie Murakoshi, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11892694
    Abstract: Provided is an optical fiber ribbon capable of achieving higher density and reduction in diameter and accurately placing optical fibers in V-shape grooves in a fusion machine without failure. The optical fiber ribbon 1 includes three or more of optical fibers 2 arranged in parallel and connecting portions 3 connecting adjacent two optical fibers 2 together, the connecting portions 3 being intermittently provided in each of a ribbon longitudinal direction and a ribbon width direction. The connecting portions 3 are each formed in such a manner as to fill resin into a gap S formed between adjacent two optical fibers 2, and both surfaces of the respective connecting portions 3 are each formed into a recess having a concave shape curved toward a center of the gap S to separate from lines 4,5 each connecting contact points of the optical fibers 2 when being placed on a horizontal surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignees: FUJIKURA LTD., NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akira Namazue, Ken Osato, Naoki Okada, Yusuke Yamada, Daisuke Kakuta, Hisaaki Nakane, Shinya Hamaguchi
  • Publication number: 20230418013
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable includes: a sheath including recesses and protrusions that are alternately disposed in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface of the sheath; a core that includes optical fibers and is accommodated in the sheath; tensile strength members embedded in the sheath; and a ripcord that is embedded in the sheath. A marking portion protruding outward in a radial direction is disposed in the sheath. The ripcord is disposed between the marking portion and the core.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Namazue, Shogo Shimizu, Go Taki, Okimi Mukai, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11835778
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable production method includes: feeding a core including optical fibers; winding a reinforcing wrap around the core and forming an overlapping portion in which end portions of the reinforcing wrap overlap each other at a portion of the reinforcing wrap in a circumferential direction; and performing extrusion molding of a sheath on an outside of the reinforcing wrap. The overlapping portion extends in a longitudinal direction of the optical fibers. In the performing extrusion molding, a resin that forms the sheath is inserted into a portion of the overlapping portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoaki Kaji, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20230365378
    Abstract: A housing unit includes: a linear material; and a housing body that houses the linear material. In the housing body, winding regions in which the linear material is wound are disposed in a circumferential direction. The linear material is wound in a figure eight in a first region pair constituted by a pair of the winding regions. The linear material is wound in a figure eight in a second region pair constituted by a pair of the winding regions that are different from the winding regions constituting the first region pair.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2021
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Takafumi Sato, Masayuki Ishioka, Ryo Inagaki, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20230350145
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable includes: a sheath; a core that is housed in the sheath and comprises optical fibers; tensile strength members embedded in the sheath; and ripcords embedded in the sheath. Recesses and protrusions are disposed alternately in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface of the sheath. The recesses each include: two connecting portions respectively connected to radial inner ends of two adjacent protrusions; and a bottom surface positioned between the two connecting portions. In a transverse cross-sectional view, the ripcords are positioned inside some of the protrusions, and the tensile strength members are positioned inside the remaining protrusions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Inventors: Shogo Shimizu, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20230350144
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable includes: a sheath; and a core that is housed in the sheath and includes optical fibers. Recesses and protrusions are disposed alternately in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface of the sheath. The optical fiber cable has a compressive strength of 12.8 N/mm2 or greater and 32.4 N/mm2 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Shogo Shimizu, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11782228
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable includes: a sheath including recesses and protrusions that are alternately disposed in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface of the sheath; a core that includes optical fibers and is accommodated in the sheath; and tensile strength members embedded in the sheath. The core is interposed between the tensile strength members in a transverse cross-sectional view. In the transverse cross-sectional view, the tensile strength members are embedded in portions of the sheath facing outward from the core in a first direction in which the two tensile strength members face each other in the transverse cross-sectional view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Namazue, Shogo Shimizu, Go Taki, Okimi Mukai, Ken Osato
  • Patent number: 11768344
    Abstract: An optical cable wiring method, includes: installing a bundle of optical cables from a utility pole as a starting point of a first wiring path to a branch point on the first wiring path; dividing, at the branch point, the bundle of optical cables into a first group and a second group; installing one of the optical cables in the first group along the first wiring path ahead of the branch point; and installing one of the optical cables in the second group along a second wiring path branching from the first wiring path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Go Taki, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20230289946
    Abstract: A management device that manages a unit including a drum and a long object wound around the drum, the management device includes: a receiver that receives, from a user terminal, a captured image obtained by capturing an image of the unit; and a controller that accesses correspondence data obtained by associating each of image capture results, obtained by successively capturing images of the unit while winding the long object around the drum, with a corresponding winding amount of the long object wound around the drum at a time when the each of the image capture results was obtained. The controller determines a remaining amount of the long object based on the captured image and the correspondence data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Applicant: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Okada, Ken Osato
  • Publication number: 20230273381
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable includes: a sheath; and a core including twisted optical fibers disposed in an accommodation space in the sheath. Each of the twisted optical fibers includes: a glass portion, a primary layer that covers the glass portion, and a secondary layer that covers the primary layer. A fiber pulling force when pulling out the twisted optical fibers is equal to or greater 15 N/10 m. A value of an index Q is less than 20.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Publication date: August 31, 2023
    Applicants: Fujikura Ltd., NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Soichiro Kaneko, Masatoshi Ohno, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato, Yusuke Yamada, Yuta Maruo, Akira Sakurai, Shigekatsu Tetsutani, Hiroaki Tanioka
  • Publication number: 20230266556
    Abstract: An optical fiber unit according to the present disclosure includes a plurality of intermittently-connected optical fiber ribbons. At least one of the optical fiber ribbons includes a plurality of optical fibers including a first optical fiber, and a second optical fiber that is longer than the first optical fiber. Conditions (AA) and c<0.05 are satisfied, where b is an interval, in a length direction, between connection parts that connect the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber, c (%) is a fiber length difference of the second optical fiber with respect to the first optical fiber, and Y is an interval between the optical fibers in a ribbon width direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2021
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Noriaki Yamashita, Akira Namazue, Ken Osato