Ofs Fitel, LLC

O Fs Fitfl, LLC

Paul R Dickinson

Daniel E Hendrickson

Bernard Miles Malofsky

Denis Edward Burek

Adam Gregg Malofsky

John E George

William H Mann

Joseph E Bradley

John DePiano

James M Sellers

Willard C White

Nathan E Winters

Jimmy Joy

Victor J Morando

Williard C White

Robert C Table

John George

A communication line such as an optical fiber or cable is attached along a wall, ceiling, trim piece, or other selected surface on or inside of a building, by paying out the fiber from an applicator tool while the tool guides the fiber along the selected surface. The outer surface of the fiber is prepared so that the fiber will be in a temporarily tacky condition when the fiber is pressed onto the selected surface by the applicator tool. The fiber is pre-coated with an adhesive that is activated by a fluid supplied by the applicator tool. As the applicator tool presses the fiber onto the selected surface, the activated adhesive coating on the fiber quickly becomes non-tacky to attach the fiber firmly to the surface.

Preparing and attaching a communication line to a supporting surface on or inside of a building

An optical fiber is permanently routed easily, quickly, and unobtrusively at a customer premises using an inventive hand tool, without staples or other fasteners. The fiber has an adhesive outer coating that is activated as the fiber is applied by the tool on an exposed surface such as a wall, ceiling, molding, groove, or corner at the premises. When the activated coating hardens, the fiber is bonded to the surface on which it was applied, and the hardened coating also provides physical protection for the fiber. In the disclosed embodiment, the coated fiber is supplied on a spool that mounts on the tool, and the coating is activated by guiding the fiber as it unwinds from the spool through a chamber containing an activating substance. The fiber with the activated coating is then guided to an applicator wheel on the tool which applies the fiber to the surface.

Optical fiber installation at customer premises

An optical fiber or cable storage module includes a back wall and a number of resilient mounting fingers extending from the back wall, and a fiber supply spool having an axial bore formed to receive the mounting fingers and to engage the fingers when the spool is urged toward the back wall so that the spool is restrained from axial movement. The spool includes a hub, and a first winding section for containing a length of fiber sufficient to route between a service terminal outside a user premises and a location near a user terminal inside the premises. The mounting fingers have corresponding catches at the ends of the fingers, and the inner circumference of the bore in the supply spool has an annular groove formed to seat the catches for restraining the spool from axial movement.

Optical fiber or cable storage module for installation at customer premises

A tool for routing an optical fiber or a cable over a desired span on a visible supporting surface at a given premises. The tool includes a rod with a handle, and a reel or spool is mounted on the rod for storing a length of an optical fiber or a cable to be routed. An adhesive coating assembly is fixed on the rod for providing an adhesive on the fiber when the fiber is unwound from the spool during use of the tool. A fiber routing applicator is disposed at the distal end of the rod. The routing applicator is dimensioned and arranged to travel over the supporting surface at the premises to route the fiber with the adhesive thereon over the desired span, while urging the fiber against the surface so that the fiber adheres to the surface.

Tool for routing an optical fiber or cable at a living unit of customer premises

A communication line such as an optical fiber or cable is attached along a wall, ceiling, trim piece, or other target surface inside of a building by laying out the line from an applicator tool. An outer surface of the line is placed in a temporarily tacky condition as the line is laid out from the tool along the target surface. The temporarily tacky condition of the line is due at least in part to an adhesive component that is pre-applied to the outer surface of the line. The adhesive component is activated by an agent or medium that is associated with the applicator tool. The line becomes non-tacky after it is attached to the target surface.

Attaching a communication line to a target surface on or inside of a building

Growing community of inventors

Johns Creek, GA, United States of America

Paul R Dickinson