Retractable optical fiber assembly

Abstract

A retractable optical fiber assembly includes a housing, a spool rotatably disposed within the housing and an optical waveguide reeled onto the spool. The optical waveguide has a central length of unjacketed optical fiber and shorter end lengths of jacketed optical fiber terminating in optical connectors. The optical waveguide is reeled onto the spool such that the end lengths of jacketed optical fiber are extracted off the spool and retracted onto the spool in the same direction. The spool is biased in a first rotational direction relative to the housing by a torsion spring that exerts a retracting force on the jacketed optical fiber. A mechanical stop is also provided to prevent rotation of the spool in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction. In an exemplary embodiment, the assembly is a test fiber box for use with optical test equipment to test an optical network.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.