Optical fiber spool and method of loading spool

Abstract

Optical fiber must be adequately protected during manufacturing, testing, and transportation from physical damage due to over-bending, crushing, and chafing. Prior art methods of packaging optical fiber have been ineffective in protecting against these forms of damage and have required manual assembly, thus their effectiveness being heavily dependent upon operator skill and training. The present invention provides an optical fiber spool that has open and closed positions which allow optical fiber to be loaded into and unloaded from the spool automatically. Furthermore, this spool protects loaded optical fiber from physical damage such as over-bending, crushing, and chafing. The spool of the present invention achieves these goals by providing a plurality of cavities which open and close to capture the optical fiber. These cavities are formed between a plurality of radial tabs positioned around the circumference of a spool lid and over a channel formed within a spool base. A center region of the lid is configured to cause the tabs to pivot from their closed to open position when a sufficient force is applied upon the center region. Once the force is removed, the tabs automatically return to the closed position.