Attaching a line to a surface

A method comprising

• attaching an optical fiber along a floor, wall, ceiling, or trim piece of a building by laying out the fiber from a tool, the fiber being laid out in a temporarily tacky condition along the floor, wall, ceiling, or trim piece, the temporarily tacky condition having been achieved by an adhesive system, the fiber having been rendered tacky in the tool by applying a gel to an outer surface of the fiber, the fiber being pressed against the floor, wall, ceiling, or trim piece by the tool as the fiber is being laid out, a portion of the adhesive system flowing from the fiber onto the floor, wall, ceiling, or trim piece after being laid out, the adhesive system becoming dry within an hour after the fiber has been attached.

A method comprising

• while at a building, activating an adhesive component that has been pre-applied to an external surface of a dry line, to cause the external surface to become temporarily tacky,
• while the external surface of the line is temporarily tacky, laying out the line along exposed target surface of a building, and
• enabling the line to become dry again while it is on the target surface.

An apparatus comprising

• on a cartridge that contains an activator fluid that causes an outside surface of a line to become tacky, an exit aperture through which the line can be withdrawn from the cartridge, the exit aperture having a variable dimension to permit a selectable amount of the activator fluid to remain on the outside surface of the line as the line is withdrawn from the cartridge.

An apparatus comprising

• on a cartridge that is has an applicator wheel to be rolled along an exposed surface of a building to apply a line that has a tacky outer surface from a groove in the perimeter of the application wheel onto the exposed building surface,
• a retainer wheel that bears against the perimeter of the applicator wheel to hold the line in the groove, and
• a mechanism that can be manipulated by a user of the tool to move the retainer wheel into and out of a position in which the retainer wheel bears against the perimeter of the application wheel.

An apparatus comprising

• target surface of a building,
• a line held permanently in place along the exposed surface of the building by a bead of adhesive, the bead being in part integral to an outer layer of the line and in part spanning a gap between the outer layer of the line and the target surface of the building.

An apparatus comprising

• a tool to apply a line to a target surface of a building, and
• a reusable or disposable cartridge used with the tool, the reusable or disposable cartridge containing a fluid to be applied to an outer surface of the line to activate a pre-applied adhesive coating on the outer surface to become at least temporarily tacky.

A method comprising

• loading a cartridge with a fluid to be used to cause a surface of a line, to be attached to an exposed surface of a building, to become tacky, and
• temporarily sealing the cartridge for later opening at the building when the line is to be attached.

A method comprising

• forming on an outer surface of a line a component that is dry and can be activated to cause the outer surface to become tacky.

An apparatus comprising

• a bobbin containing a supply of a line to be attached to a target surface of a building, the line comprising a dry outer surface that has been processed so that it can be activated to become temporarily tacky for attachment to the target surface.

An apparatus comprising

• a cartridge for use with a tool to attach a line to a target surface of a building, the cartridge comprising
• a chamber that is temporarily sealed across an access opening of the chamber, and
• a guide piece that mates with the chamber to cover the access opening and maintain the line in a predetermined contour as it is moved through the chamber when the tool is used to attach the line.

A method comprising,

• processing a line to make it susceptible later to being made tacky, the outer surface of the line being dry after it has been processed and before it is to be made tacky, and
• at a time when the line is to be attached to a target surface of a building, causing the line to be made temporarily tacky, and
• then enabling the attached line to become dry.

A method comprising,

• processing a line to make it susceptible later to being made tacky, the outer surface of the line being dry or substantially non-tacky after it has been processed and before it is to be made tacky, and
• at a time when the line is to be attached to a target surface, causing the line to be made temporarily tacky, and
• then enabling the attached line to become dry and adhered to the target surface.

An adhesive system for attaching a line to a target surface, the adhesive system comprising

• an adhesive component pre-applied to the line, and
• an activator component to be applied to the line when the line is to be attached to the surface,
• the activator component being formulated to activate the adhesive component and cause it to become temporarily tacky.

A method comprising

• at a site at which an optical fiber is to be installed on a surface of a structure, applying a single component adhesive or caulk along a length of the outer surface of the optical fiber,
• laying out the optical fiber on the surface after the single component adhesive or caulk has been applied.