Retractable optical fiber assembly
First Claim
1. A retractable optical fiber assembly comprising:
- a housing;
a spool rotatably disposed within the housing; and
a continuous length of an optical waveguide reeled onto the spool, the optical waveguide comprising a predetermined length of unjacketed optical fiber and a predetermined length of jacketed optical fiber wound radially outwardly of the unjacketed optical fiber.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
278 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A retractable optical fiber assembly comprising:
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a housing;
a spool rotatably disposed within the housing; and
a continuous length of an optical waveguide reeled onto the spool, the optical waveguide comprising a predetermined length of unjacketed optical fiber and a predetermined length of jacketed optical fiber wound radially outwardly of the unjacketed optical fiber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A retractable optical fiber assembly comprising:
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a housing defining an interior cavity and an exit port;
a spool rotatably disposed on the housing within the interior cavity; and
a continuous length of an optical waveguide reeled onto the spool, the optical waveguide having a central portion comprising a predetermined length of unjacketed optical fiber and a pair of end portions comprising predetermined lengths of jacketed optical fiber wound radially outwardly of the unjacketed optical fiber; and
wherein the end portions of jacketed optical fiber are extracted off the spool and retracted onto the spool through the exit port. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A test fiber box for testing an optical network, the test fiber box comprising:
a continuous length of an optical waveguide reeled onto a rotatable spool, a central portion of the optical waveguide comprising an unjacketed optical fiber and a pair of end portions of the optical waveguide comprising jacketed optical fiber having an optical connector terminated to the free end thereof, rotation of the spool in a first direction extracting the jacketed optical fiber and connectors off the spool for connection between optical test equipment and the optical network, rotation of the spool in a second direction opposite to the first direction retracting the jacketed optical fiber onto the spool for storage within the test fiber box. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
Specification