Flexible ribbon fiber separation tool

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11460636-B2
Application number	US-202016810278-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2020
Priority date	Mar 5, 2020
Publication date	Oct 4, 2022
Grant date	Oct 4, 2022

Abstract

A fiber separation tool is provided. The fiber separation tool includes a fin configured to maintain the fiber separation tool in a parallel orientation with respect to a plurality of fibers, a hook tip at a first end of the fin, wherein the hook tip is configured to separate the plurality of fibers, a blade disposed in the fin above the hook tip, wherein a portion of a cutting edge of the blade protrudes from a blade opening in the fin, and wherein the blade is configured to slice through a bonding material connecting the plurality of fibers, a lip at each side of the blade opening, wherein the lip is configured to prevent individual fibers of the plurality of fibers from contacting the blade, and a pivot point configured to guide the fiber separation tool between the individual fibers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of using a fiber separation tool, the method comprising:
arranging an array of fibers side-by-side, wherein each fiber is connected to at least one other neighboring fiber with a bonding material, and wherein the bonding material is intermittently dispersed between each fiber;
selecting two neighboring fibers from the array of fibers;
inserting a hook point of the fiber separation tool in between the selected fibers at a region free of the bonding material such that each selected fiber is alongside an opposing major surface of a fin comprising the hook point;
guiding the fiber separation tool in a direction parallel to a length of the selected fibers such that the selected fibers pass alongside the opposing major surfaces of the fin;
contacting the bonding material connecting the selected fibers with a blade of the fiber separation tool; and
directing the fibers to each side of the fiber separation tool.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the array of fibers comprises a fiber coating, and wherein a bonding property of the bonding material exceeds a cohesive strength of the fiber coating.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating a flexible ribbon from a buffer tube of an optical cable prior to arranging the array of fibers side-by-side.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising maintaining a minimum distance between the blade and the selected fibers, wherein the minimum distance is based on a thickness of a lip of the fiber separation tool.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the bonding material initiates a cohesive failure in the bonding material.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the array of fibers is an individual optical fiber.

7. A method of using a fiber separation tool, the method comprising:
arranging an array of fibers side-by-side, wherein each fiber is connected to at least one other neighboring fiber with a bonding material, and wherein the bonding material is intermittently dispersed between each fiber;
selecting two neighboring fibers from the array of fibers;
positioning a fiber separation tool in between the selected fibers, the fiber separation tool comprising a head portion that comprises a fin, a hook tip at a first end of the fin, a blade disposed in a cavity within the fin above the hook tip, a lip at each side of the blade opening, and a handle portion comprising a free end, the positioning comprising positioning the hook tip in between the selected fibers at a region free of the bonding material so that the blade faces the bonding material connecting the selected fibers and such that each selected fiber is alongside an opposing major surface of the fin; and
separating the selected fibers by moving the fin in a direction parallel to a length of the selected fibers such that the selected fibers pass alongside the opposing major surfaces of the fin, wherein, during the moving,
the lip prevents the selected fibers from contacting the blade,
the blade cuts through the bonding material connecting the selected fibers,
the fin maintains the fiber separation tool to be in a parallel orientation with respect to a plurality of fibers, and
the free end is used to guide the fiber separation tool between the selected fibers.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the fiber separation tool comprises a rigid material.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the blade opening is centered in the lip, and wherein the blade is partially enclosed in the cavity within the fin.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the blade is in a fixed position in the fiber separation tool.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising removing the blade from the cavity through an opening formed in the head portion 204 .

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the widest width of the head portion measured along a first direction substantially perpendicular to a major surface of the fin is narrower than the widest width of the handle portion measured along the same first direction, and wherein the greatest height of the head portion measured along a second direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the arranged fibers is greater than the greatest vertical height of the handle portion measured along the same second direction.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the handle portion comprises plastic, resin, nylon, polypropylene, polylactic acid, or carbon.

14. The method of claim 7 , wherein the array of fibers comprises a flexible ribbon.

15. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
inserting a removable handle into a bearing hole of the fiber separation tool, the bearing hole located in the handle portion, wherein the longest dimension of the inserted removable handle is perpendicular to the longest dimension of the fiber separation tool.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the removable handle comprises steel, alloy steel, carbon fiber, stainless steel 304, 316 L, duplex stainless steel 2205, or hardened carbon steel.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein moving the fin comprises moving the removable handle.

18. The method of claim 7 , wherein each of the array of fibers is an individual optical fiber.

19. A method of using an optical fiber separation tool, the method comprising:
inserting a blade through a first opening and into a cavity of an optical fiber separation tool such that the blade is exposed at a second opening, the optical fiber separation tool comprising a handle portion and a head portion that comprises a fin, a hook tip at a first end of the fin, and a lip at each side of the second opening, the fin defining the cavity within the fin, the first opening above the cavity, and the second opening above the hook tip;
arranging an array of optical fibers side-by-side, each optical fiber being connected to at least one other neighboring optical fiber with a bonding material;
selecting two neighboring optical fibers from the array of optical fibers;
positioning the optical fiber separation tool in between the selected optical fibers by positioning the hook tip between the selected optical fibers at a region free of the bonding material so that the blade faces the bonding material connecting the selected optical fibers and each selected optical fiber is alongside an opposing major surface of the fin; and
separating the selected optical fibers by moving the fin in a direction parallel to a length of the selected optical fibers such that the selected fibers pass alongside the opposing major surfaces of the fin to cut through the bonding material connecting the selected optical fibers with the blade.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
inserting a removable handle into the handle portion of the optical fiber separation tool, wherein the longest dimension of the inserted removable handle is perpendicular to the longest dimension of the optical fiber separation tool.

Assignees

• Prysmian Spa

Inventors

• Anderson Clint Nicholaus
• Fallahmohammadi Ehsan

Classifications

• B26B5/00

  Hand knives with one or more detachable blades · CPC title

• G02B6/25 Primary

  Preparing the ends of light guides for coupling, e.g. cutting · CPC title

• B26B3/00

  Hand knives with fixed blades {(handles, attaching the handles B25G)} · CPC title

• G02B6/245

  Removing protective coverings of light guides before coupling · CPC title

• G02B6/567 Primary

  for ribbon cables · CPC title