US 6,650,820 B2Granted

Optical fiber winding tool

AssigneeITF Optical Technologies Inc.

InventorsOlivier Ross, Jean-François Moquin, Stéphane Joubert, Pierre Martineau, Christian Dufour

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Abstract

An optical fiber winding tool for winding a strip of optical fiber. The optical fiber winding tool having a guiding body defining a guiding recess. A fiber inlet aperture extends into the guiding recess for allowing the slideable insertion of the strip of optical fiber thereinto. The recess peripheral wall is configured and sized such that as the strip of optical fiber is inserted through the fiber inlet aperture, a recess peripheral surface abuttingly guides the optical fiber strip into a generally parabolic configuration that sweeps against the recess peripheral surface while the optical fiber winds into a coil. The optical fiber winding tool is mountable over a flat surface with the peripheral edge of the guiding recess abuttingly contacting the supporting surface. A driving assembly is optionally provided for driving the strip of fiber into the guiding recess.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An optical fiber winding tool for winding a strip of optical fiber into a coil, said optical fiber winding tool being mountable on a generally flat supporting surface and allowing manual winding of said strip of optical fiber by the hands of an intended user, said strip of optical fiber defining a strip first longitudinal end, an opposed strip second longitudinal end and a strip intermediate section extending therebetween, said optical fiber winding tool comprising:

a guiding body having a body outer surface and defining a guiding recess, said guiding recess defining
a recess peripheral edge delimiting a recess aperture leading into said guiding recess, said recess aperture being in an aperture geometrical plane;
a recess peripheral wall having a recess peripheral surface that extends inwardly into said guiding body from said recess peripheral edge, said recess peripheral surface delimiting the boundary of said guiding recess;
a fiber inlet aperture formed in said guiding body and leading into said guiding recess, said fiber inlet aperture being sized for allowing the slidable insertion of said strip of optical fiber into said guiding recess;
said recess peripheral wall being configured and sized such that when said recess aperture is mounted over said supporting surface and said strip of optical fiber is inserted through said fiber inlet aperture, said strip first longitudinal end contacts said supporting surface and said recess peripheral surface abuttingly guides said strip intermediate section so that further insertion of said strip of optical fiber into said guiding recess causes said strip of optical fiber to wind into a coil against said recess peripheral surface adjacent said supporting surface.

2 more elements

An optical fiber winding tool for winding a strip of optical fiber into a coil, said optical fiber winding tool being mountable over a supporting surface, said optical fiber winding tool comprising:

a generally frustro-conical guiding wall defining
an apex region,
a generally annular base for mounting said guiding wall on said supporting surface and
an inner guiding recess extending from said annular base, said guiding recess defining a recess peripheral surface;
a fiber inlet aperture extending through said guiding wall adjacent said apex region for allowing slidable insertion of said strip of optical fiber into said inner guiding recess towards said annular base;
said recess peripheral surface being configured and sized to abuttingly guide said strip of optical fiber during insertion of the latter through said fiber inlet aperture so that as said strip is slidably inserted into said inner guiding recess, said strip of optical fiber first bends into an arc abutting against said recess peripheral surface and further bends into convolutes of a coil abutting against both said recess peripheral surface and said supporting surface.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.