APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING FLEXIBLE LINES
An apparatus for managing flexible lines has first and second spool members secured together by a hinge which allows the spool members to be folded between an open condition in which the spool members are in co-planar, side-by-side positions and a folded, closed condition in which the spool members are folded towards one another until they are aligned and substantially face-to-face. Each spool member has a groove extending in an at least substantially continuous loop which receives successive windings of a line or strip as it is wound in a figure eight pattern between the two spool members in an open condition. When winding is complete, the spool members can be folded together into the folded, closed condition.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for managing flexible lines or flexible elongate elements such as a wire, tube, individual fiber, ribbon fiber, or cable with fixed ends.
2. Related Art
When terminating optical connectors or other devices to optical fiber cables, it is necessary to splice the optical fibers together. Since excess fiber length is needed to perform fusion splicing, an excess of fiber is left between the devices after splicing. The excess fiber length has to be managed. Since both ends of the fiber are fixed or inaccessible, coiling the fiber is difficult and potentially damaging due to the torque which builds up with each loop. Fiber is also susceptible to optical measurement losses or shortened life if it is wound to a radius smaller than the minimum fiber bend radius. It is known to wind fiber in a figure eight pattern, relieving the torque as you wind first in one direction then in the other. One known fiber management system is two spaced, coplanar spools between the fixed fiber ends. Fiber is wound in a figure eight pattern on the spools, while maintaining a radius greater than the minimum fiber bend radius. The two side-by-side spools take up additional space between the optical devices.
Similar problems are encountered in managing lengths of other lines such as flexible wires or tubes with fixed ends. Coiling such lines can also be difficult due to torque build up.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus and method that reduces or overcomes these significant problems found in the known systems as described above.
SUMMARYEmbodiments described herein provide for an apparatus and method for managing flexible lines or flexible elongate elements between fixed ends or points in the line to handle any slack in the line between the fixed ends.
According to one aspect, apparatus for managing flexible lines is provided, which comprises a folding device having first spool member, a second spool member, and a flexible or foldable joint or hinge connecting the spool members which allows the spool members to be folded between an open condition in which the spool members are in co-planar, side by side positions and a closed, folded condition in which the spool members are folded towards one another about the joint until they are aligned and substantially face-to-face, each spool member having a groove extending in an at least substantially continuous loop which receives successive windings of a line or elongate element as it is wound in a figure eight pattern between the two spool members with the device in an open condition.
In a first embodiment, each spool member has opposite first and second faces and an outwardly facing winding channel or groove extending around at least a major part of the peripheral edge of the spool member, the hinge extending between the first faces of the spool members which are directed inwardly when the spool is folded, whereby the annular channels are located on the outside of the folded spool assembly in the folded condition. The spool members may have central openings which are aligned in the folded condition. In a second, alternative embodiment, each spool member is a flat, ring-shaped member having opposite first and second faces and a winding groove on the first face for receiving windings of a flexible line or flexible elongate element. In the second embodiment, the winding grooves are arranged to face outwardly in the folded flat condition.
The apparatus may be used to manage any type of flexible elongate line or element, such as optical fibers, electrical wires, cables, ropes, flexible tubes or hoses, threads, or the like, with suitable adjustment of the winding groove width and diameter on each spool. The material of the spool may also be varied, depending on the material of elongate line to be managed. In one embodiment, the flexible elongate elements comprise one or more individual optical fibers or ribbon fibers. Although parts of the following description refer to individual or ribbon fibers as the flexible line or elongate element, other types of flexible elongate element may also be managed in an equivalent manner to that described below. Where the flexible line is optical fiber, the first embodiment above is suitable for managing one or more individual fibers or for managing ribbon fiber. The second embodiment may be used to for managing a thinner elongate element such as an individual optical fiber.
In one embodiment, a fiber management apparatus is provided in which the hinge comprises two spaced hinge portions connecting the spool members with a gap between the hinge portions providing a cross over area for windings of fiber from one spool member to the other. The annular winding channels or grooves may have cut-outs aligned with the gap. The gap or cross over area provides a clearance for fiber or other flexible line in the cross over area when the fiber is wound in a figure eight pattern with the device in an open condition, allowing the fiber to bend at the cross over area while the device is folded. Fiber is wound first in one direction around the first spool, then extended over the gap onto the second spool, and wound in the opposite direction around the second spool before extending over the gap and crossing over the previous length of fiber in the gap, then back onto the first spool, where it is wound again in the first winding direction. This process is repeated until most of the slack is taken up, at which point the two spool members are folded together about the hinge portions into the folded, closed condition. Any remaining free fiber is then wound into the appropriate spool member. In the first embodiment of the apparatus, the inner faces of the spool members face one another and the wound fibers are outside the folded faces. The channels in which the fibers are wound are outside the hinge in the folded condition and fibers in the gap or cross over area tend to be held away from the opposing inner faces of the spool member as the devices is folded. If the device were folded with the winding channels on the inside of the fold, there is a greater risk of fibers in the cross over area contacting the spool members during folding.
In both the first and second embodiments of the apparatus, the hinge portions may be formed integrally with the spool members or may be formed separately and then secured to the respective spool members by any suitable fastener mechanism. Holes may be provided in opposite rims of each spool member to receive tie wrap for keeping wound fiber in place on the spool member. The tie wrap can also extend between the spool members so as to secure the spool members in the folded condition.
In another embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a mounting device for holding one or more folding devices in the folded condition. In one embodiment, the folding device has a central opening in the folded condition and the mounting device comprises a mounting base and a hub extending from one face of the base which extends through the opening in at least one folding device in the folded condition. The hub may have flexible fingers which are compressed as the folding device is pushed over the hub, and which have an indent to receive one or more folding devices in a storage position in which the fingers spring back to hold the device on the hub. The mounting base may be mounted on any suitable structure within a dedicated enclosure for the fiber or other flexible lines or flexible elongate elements.
In the case of optical fiber management, the mounting base may be attached to one or more stand off rods between optical devices into which the optical fibers extend.
According to another aspect, a method of managing excess length of a flexible line or elongate element between fixed points on the line is provided, which comprises positioning first and second spool members which are connected together by a hinge in a coplanar, open condition, winding a length of the line in a first direction around a groove in the first spool member, extending the line over a cross over area between the spool members, winding a subsequent length of the line in a second direction around a groove in the second spool member, extending the line back over the cross-over area between the spool members to form a figure eight pattern, repeating the preceding winding steps to form successive figure eights until at least a major part of the excess length of line is taken up by the windings on the spool members, and folding the spool members together about the hinge into a folded, closed condition. In one embodiment, the spool members are folded before a final winding is made, and the final winding is made about the appropriate groove after the spool members are folded together. In one embodiment, the flexible line may be one or more individual optical fibers or an optical ribbon fiber.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
Certain embodiments as disclosed herein provide for an apparatus and method for managing flexible lines or flexible elongate elements having fixed ends. For example, one apparatus and method as disclosed herein allows for managing excess of fiber between fixed ends or points on the fiber produced when terminating various devices to optical fiber cables.
After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled in the art how to implement the invention in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present invention are described herein, it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
In the following description, embodiments of an apparatus and method for managing fibers such as optical fibers are described, but the described apparatus and methods may alternatively be used for managing other types of flexible line or flexible elongate elements, such as electrical or other flexible wires, cables, ropes, flexible tubes or hoses, threads, or the like. In the case of optical fiber, the fiber may be one or more individual optical fibers or a ribbonized fiber (ribbon fiber). Ribbon fiber contains multiple fibers in a ribbon-like form. The management apparatus and methods for flexible elongate elements or lines other than fibers may be identical to those described in the embodiments below, with appropriate adjustment of the scale and material of the apparatus to accommodate flexible elongate elements of different sizes and materials.
The term “spool” as used in this application means a device on which a flexible elongate element can be wound or spooled. Although the spools illustrated in the drawings and described below are round, in other embodiments the spools may have other continuous loop shapes such as elliptical, oval, polygonal, or the like.
The term “hinge” as used in this application means a flexible or foldable joint or connection that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, and may be a so-called “living hinge” of bendable material which is sufficiently flexible to allow pivoting, or a physical pivot or hinge joint.
Each spool member is generally ring-shaped or annular with a central opening 30, a first or inner face 32, a second or outer face 34, and a winding channel or groove 35 running around its outer peripheral edge between spaced inner and outer rims 36, 38. As illustrated in
The hinge portions or living hinges 25, 26 allow the dual spool device 20 to be folded between an open condition as illustrated in
In order to wind a length of one or more individual fibers or ribbon fibers 45 between points 46, 47 of the fiber onto device 20, as illustrated schematically in
As illustrated in
The width and depth of the winding channels or grooves 35 is dependent on the thickness of fiber, fibers, or other elongate flexible elements to be wound on device 20. The device may be used for managing an individual fiber, multiple individual fiber circuits between optical devices to be connected, or a ribbon fiber. In alternative embodiments, device 20 may be used for managing other types of flexible elongate elements in the manner illustrated in
The fiber management apparatus may also comprise a mounting device for holding one or more of the folding dual spool devices 20 of
As illustrated in
The base 56 of the mounting device 58 may have a mounting arrangement for engagement with stand-off rods 14 between two optical devices 16, 18, as illustrated in
A slimmer version of the folding device 20 may be used for managing a single or individual fiber in a single optical circuit. In this alternative, the winding channel or groove 35 in each spool is much narrower than in
Each ring member has a central opening 84 and an inner peripheral edge 85. A pair of diametrically opposed keys or projections 86 project inwardly towards one another from the inner peripheral edge 85. These keys have the same purpose as the keys 40, 42 in the previous embodiment, i.e. for alignment and anti-rotation purposes when the folding device 70 is folded and mounted on a hub 58 of a mounting device 55. A series of spaced openings 88 are provided around each ring member in the space between the winding groove 80 and the inner peripheral edge 85. As in the previous embodiments, the openings 88 may be used for ties, clips, or the like to hold wound fiber on the device 70, and also to hold the device in the closed, folded condition of
As noted above,
When a majority of the length of fiber has been wound onto device 70, and there is only a turn or less of fiber left to be wound, device may be folded from the open condition of
The device 70 has a slimmer profile when folded than the fiber management device of
The folding device 20 of the first embodiment above may be used for handling or spooling lengths of multiple individual fibers, ribbon fibers, or other elongate lines when the ends of the lines are not accessible. In the case of optical fibers, a length of one or more individual fibers or ribbon fiber typically projects from an exit end of an optical device to be connected in line with other optical devices, such as an optical or hybrid device housing and an optical or hybrid cable. These lengths of optical fiber are commonly known as pigtails, and the pigtail length is made sufficient to allow for splicing on fusion splicing equipment. The fiber pigtail may be an individual fiber, a bunch of individual fibers, or one or more ribbon fibers which contain multiple fibers in a ribbon-like form. The folding device 70 of
A method of adjusting the length of fiber to be managed so that it is close to a whole number of turns on the device 20 is described below, with reference to FIG. I 1. A similar method is used to adjust the length of fiber when it is to be wound on device 70. As noted above, a fiber pigtail of one or more individual fibers or ribbon fiber normally extends from a housing or enclosure for an optical fiber device such as an optical connector shell or a cable termination housing before the device is connected to another such device in an assembly.
In
In the event of fiber damage after a splice, a section of length qπd, where q is an integer, which spans the damaged portion may be removed or cut out before re-splicing. If possible, depending on the length of the damaged portion, q is equal to one so as to minimize the discarded fiber. This means that the fiber length after splicing is still approximately equal to a whole number of turns on the fiber winding grooves.
The above embodiments allow fibers, ribbon fibers, or other flexible elongate elements or lines to be managed in a figure eight pattern on dual spools with windings on each spool being in opposite directions to cancel or reduce twist. At the same time, the hinge between the spools allows the spools to be folded along a central fold or hinge line into a folded, closed condition, to take up approximately half the space of the fully extended dual spools. The winding grooves are located outside the hinge on folding, reducing the risk of fiber in the cross over area contacting a spool member during folding into the closed condition.
The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus for managing flexible lines, comprising:
- a folding device having a first spool member, a second spool member, and a hinge connecting the spool members, each spool member having opposite first and second faces and an outer peripheral edge; the hinge allowing the spool members to be folded between an open condition in which the spool members are in co-planar, side-by-side positions and a closed, folded condition in which the spool members are folded towards one another about the hinge into a substantially aligned, face-to-face position, the first faces of the spool members facing one another in the folded condition; and
- each spool member having a winding groove extending in an at least substantially continuous loop which receives successive windings of a line as it is wound in a figure eight pattern between the two spool members with the folding device in an open condition, wherein the windings form a folded figure eight in the folded, closed condition of the device.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each winding groove extends around at least a major part of the outer peripheral edge of the respective spool member and has first and second spaced rims.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the hinge comprises a pair of spaced hinge portions with a gap between the hinge portions forming a cross over area for line passing from one spool member to the other spool member.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first rim of the groove on each spool member terminates at each end of the gap between the hinge portions to leave the groove open along one side across the gap.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hinge connects the first faces of the spool members.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each spool member is a flat member and each winding groove is located on the second face of the spool member and spaced inwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the spool member.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each spool member is a flat, ring-shaped member having a central opening.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the hinge comprises two spaced hinge portions with a gap between the hinge portions providing a cross over area for line wound from one spool member to the other.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each spool member has a cut out extending from the peripheral edge to the groove in an area between the hinge portions and facing the cross over area, each cut out providing a pathway for line extending between a respective groove and the cross over area.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hinge is formed integrally with the spool members.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hinge and spool members are separate elements, and a fastener mechanism connects the hinge to each spool member.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each spool member has at least one opening which is aligned with the opening in the other spool member in the folded, closed condition of the folding device, the openings receiving a holding device which secures windings of line in the respective winding groove.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mounting device which holds at least one folding device in the folded condition.
14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein each spool member has a central opening and the central openings are aligned in the folded, closed condition of the folding device, and the mounting device comprises a mounting base and a hub extending from one face of the base which extends through the aligned openings.
15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the hub has resilient fingers which are compressed as the folding device is pushed over the hub, the fingers having a recess which receives the folding device in a storage position.
16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each winding groove is of generally rectangular cross-section.
17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each winding groove has an inner end, opposite side walls, and an outer opening, and is of generally triangular cross-section with the opposite side walls tapering inwardly towards one another from the inner end to the outer opening of the groove.
18. A method for managing slack in a flexible line extending between two points on the line, comprising:
- positioning a folding device with first and second spool members which are secured together by a hinge in a side-by-side, coplanar and open condition;
- winding a length of a line in a first direction around a first winding groove in the first spool member, extending the line over a cross over area between the spool members, winding a subsequent length of the line in a second direction around a second winding groove in the second spool member, and extending the line over the cross over area between the spool members to form a figure eight;
- repeating the preceding winding steps to form successive figure eights until the majority of the slack in the line is taken up by the windings on the spool members; and
- folding the spool members together about the hinge into a folded, closed condition, whereby a folded figure eight is formed.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein each winding groove extends around the outer peripheral edge of the respective spool member.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein each winding groove is located on one face of the respective spool member and spaced inwardly from the peripheral edge of the spool member.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein the spool members are folded such that each winding groove is located on the outermost face of the respective spool member in the folded, closed condition.
22. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of winding the line in a first direction about the first winding groove in the first spool member comprises first engaging a portion of the line in part of the second winding groove adjacent the cross over area and extending the line from the second winding groove over the cross over area and into the first winding groove before winding the line in the first direction about the first winding groove.
23. The method of claim 18, wherein the winding steps are repeated until a length of the line corresponding to at least one turn remains unwound, and the spool members are folded together before winding a final turn of the line onto one of the spool members.
24. The method of claim 18, wherein the flexible line comprises one or more optical fibers.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising adjusting the lengths L1 and L2 of two fiber pigtails so that the total fiber length L=L1+L2=l1+l2+nπd+ε, where d is the diameter of each winding groove, n is an integer, l1 and l2 are the distances from the fiber points on each side of the folded spool members to the point where fiber joins the respective winding groove in the folded, closed position, and E is a compensation factor based on variation in winding diameter as a result of plural turns of the fiber being wound on top of one another, and subsequently splicing the adjusted fiber pigtails together prior to winding onto the first and second spool members in the figure eight pattern.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 1, 2007
Publication Date: Dec 4, 2008
Inventors: James L. Cairns (Ormond Beach, FL), Srikanth Ramasubramanian (Daytona Beach, FL), Peter Richard Baxter (Ormond Beach, FL)
Application Number: 11/757,023
International Classification: B65H 57/12 (20060101);