Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/46—Processes or apparatus adapted for installing or repairing optical fibres or optical cables
  • G02B6/48—Overhead installation
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/44—Mechanical structures for providing tensile strength and external protection for fibres, e.g. optical transmission cables
  • G02B6/4439—Auxiliary devices
  • G02B6/4457—Bobbins; Reels
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
  • B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
  • B65H75/04—Kinds or types
  • B65H75/08—Kinds or types of circular or polygonal cross-section
  • B65H75/14—Kinds or types of circular or polygonal cross-section with two end flanges
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
  • B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
  • B65H75/18—Constructional details
  • B65H75/28—Arrangements for positively securing ends of material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/30—Handled filamentary material
  • B65H2701/32—Optical fibres or optical cables
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/50—Storage means for webs, tapes, or filamentary material
  • B65H2701/51—Cores or reels characterised by the material
  • B65H2701/512—Cores or reels characterised by the material moulded
  • B65H2701/5122—Plastics

Definitions

• optical fiber and more particularly to advantageous aspects of a system and methods
• optical fiber is typically wound onto a
• under- wrap as that end lies under the fiber pack which may consist of
• the "lead meter” is
• the present invention provides a shipping spool and winding system that
• the invention provides a spool comprising a primary
• the outboard flange having a slot extending to its periphery.
• the slot provides a
• the slot having an inlet facing the lead meter barrel portion and an outlet facing
• the slot is angled such that when fiber being wound onto
• the lead meter barrel portion comes into contact with the slot inlet, the fiber is, by virtue of its angle, drawn into the slot and then guided by the slot onto the primary barrel
• the invention comprises a fiber optic winding
• spool having a flange including a plurality of curved, intersecting ribs.
• the flange including a plurality of curved, intersecting ribs.
• plurality of curved, intersecting ribs form at least one circumferential row of diamond-
• the spool shaped strengthening members that add significant strength to the spool.
• a circumferential rib and/or a plurality of radially extending ribs may also include a circumferential rib and/or a plurality of radially extending ribs for
• the curved, intersecting ribs may be used in combination with the
• Figs. 1A and IB show, respectively, bottom and side views of a shipping spool
• Fig. 1 C shows a close-up view of a lead meter hole in the shipping spool shown
• Figs. 2A and 2B show, respectively, bottom and side views of a first
• Fig. 2C shows a close-up view of an outboard flange slot in the shipping spool
• Figs. 3A-E show a side view of a shipping spool according to the invention at
• FIG. 4 shows a close-up view of an outboard flange slot at the point at which the
• Figs. 5 A-C show a bottom view of a shipping spool according to the invention
• Fig. 5D is a composite side and bottom view illustrating, among other things,
• Fig. 6 is a side view of a flat-flange embodiment of a shipping spool according
• Figs. 7 A and 7B show, respectively, side and bottom perspective views of a
• Figs. 8 A and 8B show, respectively, side and bottom perspective views of a
• Figs. 9A-C show, respectively, side, bottom perspective, and bottom views of a
• Figs. 10A and 10B show, respectively, side and bottom views of a shipping
• Fig. 11 shows a bottom view of an outboard flange having an alternative rib
• FIGs. 12A and 12B show, respectively, side and bottom views of a shipping
• fiber is drawn from a preform at a draw tower and then wound onto a bulk spool
• the bulk spool is taken "off-line," i.e., disconnected from the fiber output of the
• optical fiber is tested for strength, wound onto a shipping spool and then cut to length
• the optical fiber is
• optical fiber is wound onto the shipping spool by rotating the spool
• present invention can be practiced with either type of winding setup.
• Figs. 1 A and IB show, respectively, top and side views of a prior-art optical
• the spool 10 includes a cylindrical
• the shipping spool 10 includes a recessed cylindrical lead meter barrel
• the lead meter barrel portion 16 includes a lead meter flange portion 18. Finally, a lead
• meter hole 20 is provided in the first flange 14, providing a pathway for optical fiber to be fed between the lead meter barrel 16 and the primary barrel 12.
• Fig. IC shows a
• the end of the fiber is unrolled from
• predetermined length of fiber is wound on and again the end is taped.
• the five- to ten-meter length of fiber wound onto the lead meter barrel provides
• a sufficient amount of fiber for measurements for example, for: (1) optical access for
• OTD optical time-domain reflectometer
• the procedure especially the threading and manual wind onto the lead meter barrel, is time-consuming and cumbersome.
• the lead meter requires reaching into a
• FIGs. 2A and 2B show, respectively, side and
• the spool 22 includes a primary barrel portion 24, around which
• the optical fiber is wound.
• barrel portion 24 are defined by outboard and inboard flanges 26 and 27.
• these flanges are ribbed to combine lightness with strength.
• the spool 22 shown in Figs. 2A and 2B further includes a lead meter barrel
• present lead meter barrel 28 is not recessed, but rather protrudes axially from outboard flange 26. Further, the width of the present lead meter barrel 28 is somewhat greater than that of its prior art counterpart. The lead meter barrel 28 is separated from the primary barrel 24 by the outboard flange 26. The outside limits of the lead meter barrel
• portion 28 are defined by the outboard flange 26 and a lead meter flange 30.
• the shipping spool shown in Figs. 2A and 2B includes a slot 32 in the outboard
• the slot is angled at less than 90 degrees, and more preferably the slot is
• the slot is angled less than 45 degrees. Most preferably, the slot is angled about 20 degrees with
• the slot 32 provides a pathway for optical fiber
• the spool is plastic and is
• the geometry of the slot is designed such that
• the fiber is accelerated and traversed through the slot and onto the
• the slot is designed
• slot 32 acts as a cam to accelerate the fiber from one side of the outboard flange 26
• Fig. 2C shows an enlarged view of the slot 32 in the outboard flange 26.
• the slot 32 accelerates fiber from the slot's inlet side 34, i.e., from the
• the slot 32 is defined by two opposing surfaces, a
• lead-in surface 38 and a working surface 40 As shown in the illustrated embodiment,
• the lead-in surface 38 and the working surface 40 are preferably non-parallel with each
• an angle ⁇ i of about 15 degrees is provided on the lead-in surface 38
• the lead-in surface 38 guides the optical fiber into the slot
• the lead-in surface 38 may include a tapered portion 42 that facilitates the lead-
• FIG. 3 A-F which show the shipping spool 22 at different stages during the winding
• the winding process is commenced by mounting the empty spool onto a
• the spool 22 is
• Fig. 3 A shows a side view of the spool 22 in the middle of the winding of the
• the lead meter segment of optical fiber 44 onto the lead meter barrel 28.
• barrel 28 is located at the bottom of the spool 22, as shown.
• the optical fiber 44 is fed to the spool by means of a flying head assembly
• the velocity of the flying head 46 is approximately equal to the fiber transverse velocity, i.e., the speed at which the spiral of optical fiber 44 progresses up the length of the lead
• the optical fiber 44 continues to be wound onto the lead meter barrel 28 until,
• the flying head 46 has advanced to the point at which the optical
• the flying head 46 continues to move upward, but the fiber transverse velocity
• the lead-in portion 42 must be long enough and sufficiently tapered so that the fiber 42
• the working surface 40 of the slot 32 i.e., the surface
• optical fiber 44 is inboard flange 27. Because of the angle and geometry of the slot 32, optical fiber 44
• Fig. 4 shows a close up view of the slot 32 at the transition point, i.e., the point
• the lead meter segment of the fiber 44 is wound onto the lead meter barrel 28
• the present shipping spool 22 has a number of operational parameters, which
• FIG. 5 A shows a bottom view of a shipping spool 22
• the lead meter barrel 28 is preferably covered with a layer of
• point 50 is the point at which the fiber 44 actually enters the slot and begins its
• the slot entry point 50 is proximate to, but not
• abutting the slot exit point 52 comprises a "slot lead-out area" 54. As shown in Fig.
• the slot exit point 52 is located at a point deeper within the circumference of the
• Fig. 5C shows the relationship between the slot entry point and the slot exit
• an acute angle 54 is formed by a first radius 56 including
• Fig. 5D is a composite side and bottom view showing the relationship between
• Fig. 5D illustrates three
• the lead meter barrel diameter 66 the outboard flange diameter 68, and the outboard flange thickness 70.
• the "slot pressure angle” 72 ( ⁇ 2 ) is the angle formed by the slot's working surface and the outboard flange.
• the slot pressure angle is less than 45 degrees.
• parameters include the slot's included angle, discussed below, and the flange thickness.
• Rotational speed, slot included angle and flange thickness determine the
• the slot 32 is engineered to be unidirectional for fiber 44 traversing the
• the outboard flange 26 has a square corner 74, and its outside face 76 is flat.
• the first embodiment is a so-called "constant velocity" slot, which is the slot in
• FIG. 7A and 7B show, respectively,
• multi-piece spool design including an outboard flange 26a incorporating a constant velocity slot 32a.
• the slot would preferably be formed in an
• working surface 40a of this slot 32a is simply a planar surface that cuts through the
• Fiber may experience high accelerations as it enters the slot area. These high
• accelerations may create tension spikes in the fiber that can significantly impair tension
• Figs. 8A and 8B show, respectively, a side view and a partial bottom
• the first curve comprises two parabolic curves arranged in an "S" configuration 40b.
• the first curve comprises two parabolic curves arranged in an "S" configuration 40b.
• the second parabolic curve which is curved in a direction opposite to that of the first
• the present invention can lead to a buildup of fiber 44 on the primary barrel side 24 of
• the flying head 46 "catches up," several turns of fiber 44 are wound onto the primary
• the buildup of fiber on the primary barrel 24 at the outboard flange 26 can
• the buildup can be amplified as subsequent layers of fiber
• One embodiment of the spool 22 to address the buildup issue includes a taper on
• This taper 78 functions to delay fiber entry into the slot 32. The fiber buildup is then
• delayed entry slot can be combined with a tapered flange design.
• Other arrangements may be used to address fiber buildup at the primary barrel
• lateral motion of the fiber can be timed according to
• the described automated draw winder includes a drawing machine in which,
• the fiber continues to be drawn by a
• the aspirator which maintains tension on the fiber, introduces the fiber to a snagger
• the machine can automatically break the fiber, capture the fiber
• FIGs. 10A-B show,
• the optical fiber is wound onto the lead
• the present invention facilitates the automation of lead meter removal.
• winding pattern can be advantageously combined with a snagger tooth arrangement, in
• a further advantageous feature of the presently disclosed slot is that, unlike
• present slot technique can also be used in a more conventional
• optical fiber for winding onto a bulk spool.
• the presently disclosed spool and winding system may be used to
• Fig. 11 shows a bottom view of an outboard flange 26d incorporating a rib
• the rib pattern is capable of use in isolation from the slot.
• outboard flange 26d preferably combines three types of ribs: radial
• ribs 86, a circumferential rib 88, and curved ribs 90 although each may be utilized
• the radial ribs 86 are preferably equally-spaced straight ribs that extend in a radial direction from the circumferential rib 88 to the periphery of the flange 26d
• rib 88 is a circular rib that provides both a functional surface for the above-described
• the radial ribs 86 terminate at a point adjacent to the circumferential ribs 88.
• the curved ribs 90 shown in Fig. 11 combine flange stiffness with a high
• a plurality of clockwise curved ribs 90a intersect a plurality of counter ⁇
• the curved ribs 90a, 90b intersect at multiple points.
• the curved ribs 90a, 90b intersect at multiple points.
• 90a, 90b intersect at the lead meter barrel 28 and also at the circumferential rib 88.
• radially extending ribs 86 preferably extend outward from the intersection points 89.
• the increased strength is a result of the manner in which the curved ribs 90
• intersections formed to make the diamond support structure facilitate molding via an
• strengthening structures such as curved intersecting ribs, circumferential ribs, and/or radial ribs are included on the inboard flange, as well.
• strengthening structures such as curved intersecting ribs, circumferential ribs, and/or radial ribs are included on the inboard flange, as well.
• FIG. 12A and 12B illustrate another important feature of the slot 32. This
• Fig. 12 A which is a
• the trailing edge 92 of the slot 32 includes at its outermost radial extent
• the profile 94 preferably includes a compound radiused
• profile 94 prevents the fiber, as it as being wound in reverse, from inadvertently
• the profile 94 may include, for example, a radial component 94a, as is shown in
• the profile 94 on the trailing edge 92 may also include an axial, non-straight
• This component 94b may also include a
• a suitable amount or extent of radius, taper or other profile will be determined in accordance with the winding speed and conditions. Because of the wind angle, a
• suitable profile 94 virtually eliminates the chance of re-traversing through the slot 32.
• a radius of between about 12 cm radius flange and 7.5 cm radius spool it has been determined that a radius of between about 12 cm radius flange and 7.5 cm radius spool.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Storage Of Web-Like Or Filamentary Materials (AREA)
• Light Guides In General And Applications Therefor (AREA)
• Discharge Lamps And Accessories Thereof (AREA)
• Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
• Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)
• Manufacture, Treatment Of Glass Fibers (AREA)
• Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=22355701

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (13)

Cited By (6)

Families Citing this family (10)

Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 1999
  • 1999-12-14 BR BR9916672-0A patent/BR9916672A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-12-14 EP EP99966235A patent/EP1140684B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-12-14 CA CA002358551A patent/CA2358551A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-12-14 AT AT99966235T patent/ATE280126T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-12-14 DE DE69921357T patent/DE69921357T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-12-14 ID IDW00200101525A patent/ID29982A/id unknown
  • 1999-12-14 CN CNB998152277A patent/CN1166547C/zh not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-12-14 WO PCT/US1999/029670 patent/WO2000040495A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1999-12-14 KR KR1020017008225A patent/KR100658612B1/ko active IP Right Grant
  • 1999-12-14 AU AU21830/00A patent/AU2183000A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-12-14 JP JP2000592213A patent/JP2002534339A/ja active Pending
• 2000
  • 2000-02-15 TW TW089102750A patent/TW472159B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-05-17 ZA ZA200104013A patent/ZA200104013B/en unknown
• 2009
  • 2009-09-24 JP JP2009219461A patent/JP4806062B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (7)

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