Four AFL executives were recently recognized for receiving patent awards for their work developing new products and technologies.
Brian Herbst, director of specialty cables, received a patent for breathable down hole fiber optic cable. Used in the oil and gas industry, this cable has an outer protective tube which itself has a plurality of optical fibers contained therein.
Ted Lichoulas, R&D engineering manager, and Eddie Kimbrell, senior designer, received a patent for a removable two-piece wall plate assembly for telecommunications devices. Installed on apartments, condominiums and other multi-dwelling units (MDUs), this assembly provides a multi-piece cover plate, which is connected to the inbound twisted pair phone line, and a modular device assembly. According to AFL, electronic components within the wall plate filter the inbound signal, separating the VDSL signal which provides voice, data and video service, from the POTS signal and line noise.
Wayne Quesnel, development design engineer for the company's conductor accessories division, received a patent for a wedge dead end that supports optical ground wire, a fiber optic cable primarily used by the electric utility industry, placed in the topmost position of a transmission line where it shields conductors from lightning while providing a telecommunications path for internal as well as their party communications.
Founded in 1984, AFL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan.