Gap, overwind, and lead angle sensor for fiber optic bobbins
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorRobert M. Watts
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A position sensor for sensing the position of an optical fiber with respect to the axis of a bobbin as the fiber is being wound to the bobbin. The apparatus and method illuminate the fiber being fed onto a bobbin with an externally incident energy which is internally reflected within a portion of the fiber. The position of the illuminated portion of the fiber is detected and the winding process may be controlled based on the detected position. In alternate embodiments, multiple radiation sources produce radiation with distinctive radiation characteristics and multiple sensors discriminate between and distinct radiation characteristics.
Claims18
An apparatus for winding an optical fiber on a bobbin, comprising:
- means for winding an unwound length of said optical fiber back and forth a predetermined distance along the axial length of said bobbin;
- means for transmitting energy into said fiber to be internally transmitted through a selected portion of said fiber being wound;
- means responsive to loss of said internally transmitted energy radially out of the longitudinal said selected portion of said fiber for detecting the position of said selected portion of said optical fiber within said predetermined distance;
- and
- means responsive to said detecting means for controlling said winding means.
An apparatus for winding an optical fiber on a bobbin, comprising:
- means for winding an unwound length of said optical fiber back and forth a predetermined distance along the axial length of said bobbin;
- means for transmitting energy into said fiber to be internally transmitted through a selected portion of said fiber being wound comprising first means for transmitting energy of a first type for which said fiber has a high loss characteristic through a first section of said fiber portion, and second means for transmitting energy of a second type for which said fiber has a low loss characteristic through a second section of said fiber portion;
- means responsive to loss of said internally transmitted energy out of said selected portion of said fiber for detecting the position of said selected portion of said optical fiber within said predetermined distance, said detecting means including position sensing means including means for discriminating between said first energy type and said second energy type, for sensing the positions of said first and second sections, and comparator means for comparing the sensed positions with desired positions and generating a signal;
- and
- means responsive to said signal for controlling said winding means.
An apparatus for detecting the position of an optical fiber being continuously wound onto a receiving bobbin, the optical fiber having an unwound length, said apparatus comprising:
- means for transmitting energy selectively into said unwound length to be internally transmitted through a selected portion of said fiber being wound;
- and
- means responsive to loss of said internally transmitted energy radially out of the longitudinal surface of said selected portion of said fiber for sensing said selected portion.
A method for winding an optical fiber on a bobbin in a winding process comprising:
- winding an unwound length of said optical fiber back and forth a predetermined distance along the axial length of said bobbin;
- transmitting energy selectively into said unwound length to be internally transmitted through a selected portion of said fiber being wound;
- detecting the position of said selected portion of said optical fiber within said predetermined distance in response to energy loss radially out of the longitudinal surface of said selected portion of said fiber from said internally transmitted energy;
- and
- controlling said winding process responsive to the detected position.
A method for detecting the position of an optical fiber being continuously wound onto a receiving bobbin, the optical fiber having an unwound length, said method comprising:
- transmitting energy selectively into said unwound length to be internally transmitted through a selected portion of said fiber being wound;
- and
- sensing the position of said selected portion of said optical fiber in response to energy loss radially out of the longitudinal surface said selected portion of said fiber from said internally transmitted energy.
The method of claim 16, wherein the step of transmitting energy into said fiber to be internally transmitted comprises:
- internally transmitting energy of a first type for which said fiber has a high loss characteristic through a first section of said fiber portion;
- internally transmitting energy of a second type for which said fiber has a low loss characteristic through a second section of said fiber portion;
- and
- wherein the step of sensing the position of the selected portion includes sensing the positions of said first and second sections including the step of discriminating between said first energy type and said second energy type.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.