Tool for installing an optical fiber in a building room or hallway

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9835817-B2
Application number	US-201514937255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2015
Priority date	Nov 10, 2015
Publication date	Dec 5, 2017
Grant date	Dec 5, 2017

Abstract

An installation tool and method of embedding an optical fiber in an adhesive bead deposited along a structural corner or crevice in a building room or hallway, without a ladder and while an installer stands safely on the floor. The tool includes a neck portion arranged to be joined to a distal end of a pole, a trough for receiving and containing the optical fiber, a guide channel disposed at a downstream end of the trough for retaining the fiber, and a tool nose disposed at a downstream end of the guide channel. When the installer manipulates the tool to sweep the tool nose over the bead while urging the tool nose against the bead, the fiber enters the tool nose from the guide channel and becomes embedded in the adhesive bead.

First claim

We claim:

1. An installation tool for an optical fiber, comprising:
a neck portion configured to be attached to a distal end of an elongated pole;
a trough joined to the neck portion for receiving and containing a length of an optical fiber to be embedded by the tool in an adhesive bead deposited along a structural corner or crevice formed in a building room or hallway;
a guide channel having an upstream end disposed at a downstream end of the trough for retaining the optical fiber;
a tool nose disposed at a downstream end of the guide channel, wherein the tool nose is configured and dimensioned so that when the tool is manipulated to sweep the tool nose over the adhesive bead while the tool nose is urged against the bead, the optical fiber enters the tool nose from the guide channel and the tool nose embeds the fiber in the bead; and
a fiber keeper associated with the guide channel, wherein the keeper is arranged for movement between a closed position atop the guide channel to retain the optical fiber inside the channel, and an open position so that an outside length of fiber can be captured and retained by the channel, or a length of fiber remaining in the guide channel can be released from the tool.

2. An installation tool according to claim 1 , wherein the fiber keeper is constructed and arranged for swinging movement between the closed and the open positions.

3. An installation tool according to claim 2 , wherein the fiber keeper has an associated spring mechanism for biasing the keeper toward the closed position atop the guide channel.

4. An installation tool according to claim 3 , wherein the fiber keeper has a flange on a top side of the keeper, and including a cord having one end tied to the flange, and a handle attached to an opposite end of the cord for pulling the cord and swinging the keeper to the open position.

5. An installation tool according to claim 4 , including a band for mounting a proximal end of the cord including the handle along the pole for access by an installer.

6. A method of installing an optical fiber, comprising:
depositing an adhesive bead along a selected structural corner or crevice formed in a building room or hallway in which the optical fiber is to be installed;
providing an installation tool according to claim 4 ;
providing an elongated pole, and fastening a distal end of the pole to the installation tool;
holding the fiber keeper atop the guide channel of the installation tool open, and guiding a length of an optical fiber to be embedded in the bead through the trough, the guide channel, and the nose of the tool;
closing the fiber keeper, thus retaining the fiber in the guide channel;
placing the tool nose at a determined start position along the deposited adhesive bead; and
sweeping the tool nose over the adhesive bead while urging the nose against the bead to em bed the fiber.

7. The method of claim 6 , including opening the fiber keeper to release the fiber from the guide channel after the sweeping step.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the sweeping step is performed by an installer holding the pole with one hand and holding the length of optical fiber to be embedded in the adhesive bead with the other hand, thereby avoiding undesirable fiber slack from accruing as the tool nose em beds the fiber in the bead.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the selected corner or crevice in the depositing step is adjacent to a crown molding or a baseboard molding on a wall of the building room or hallway in which the optical fiber is to be installed.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the selected corner or crevice in the depositing step is between a wall and a ceiling or a wall and a floor of the building room or hallway in which the optical fiber is to be installed.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the selected corner or crevice in the depositing step is next to an existing conduit or cable fastened along a wall of the building room or hallway in which the optical fiber is to be installed.

12. An installation tool according to claim 1 , wherein the tool nose is configured to embed an optical fiber having an outer diameter (OD) of about 900 μm into an adhesive bead having an OD of about 0.1 inch.

13. An installation tool according to claim 1 , wherein the tool nose is configured to embed an optical fiber having an OD of about 2.0 mm into an adhesive bead having an OD of about 0.1 inch.

14. An installation tool according to claim 1 , wherein the trough has a generally V-shaped cross section.

15. An installation tool according to claim 1 , wherein the neck portion of the tool has a socket for receiving and engaging a distal end of the pole.

16. An installation tool for an optical fiber, comprising:
a neck portion configured to be attached to a distal end of an elongated pole;
a trough joined to the neck portion for receiving and containing a length of an optical fiber to be embedded by the tool in an adhesive bead deposited along a structural corner or crevice formed in a building room or hallway;
a guide channel having an upstream end disposed at a downstream end of the trough for retaining the optical fiber;
a tool nose disposed at a downstream end of the guide channel, wherein the tool nose is configured and dimensioned so that when the tool is manipulated to sweep the tool nose over the adhesive bead while the tool nose is urged against the bead, the optical fiber enters the tool nose from the guide channel and the tool nose embeds the fiber in the bead;
wherein the trough has a generally V-shaped cross section; and
the trough is defined by a pair of opposed, wing shaped side walls the spacing between which decreases from an upstream end toward the downstream end of the trough.

17. An installation tool according to claim 16 , wherein the tool nose is configured to embed an optical fiber having an outer diameter (OD) of about 900 μm into an adhesive bead having an OD of about 0.1 inch.

18. An installation tool according to claim 16 , wherein the tool nose is configured to embed an optical fiber having an OD of about 2.0 mm into an adhesive bead having an OD of about 0.1 inch.

19. An installation tool according to claim 16 , wherein the neck portion of the tool has a socket for receiving and engaging a distal end of the pole.

Assignees

• Ofs Fitel Llc

Inventors

• Burek Denis E
• Joy Jimmy
• White Willard C

Classifications

• G02B6/46 Primary

  Processes or apparatus adapted for installing {or repairing} optical fibres or optical cables (installation of cables containing electric conductors and optical fibres H02G) · CPC title

• G02B6/4466

  Physics · mapped topic

• G02B6/4439

  Auxiliary devices · CPC title

• B65H2701/32

  Optical fibres or optical cables · CPC title

• G02B6/47

  Installation in buildings · CPC title