Optical fibre cutting protection

Abstract

An apparatus for deploying an elongate media in a throughbore, the apparatus comprising: a housing; a bobbin mounted within the housing such that an elongate media wound around the bobbin is deployable from the housing; and a takeoff region for discharging the elongate media from the bobbin, wherein the bobbin comprises a bobbin axis and is configured to discharge the elongate media from the bobbin generally parallel to the bobbin axis; and wherein the takeoff region comprises a clearance gap between the bobbin and the housing, and a resilient portion in the clearance gap, the resilient portion configured to deform by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

Description

[0001] Fibre Cutting Protection

[0002] FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates to an apparatus, in particular to an apparatus for deploying an elongate media in a throughbore. Also disclosed is a bobbin for mounting in said apparatus for deploying an elongate media such as an optical fibre.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Optical fibres are conventionally deployed in wellbores to facilitate sensing operations, such as distributed sensing operations including distributed temperature sensing (DTS), distributed pressure sensing (DPS) and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). Optical fibres may also be used for data communication to / from a wellbore. In many cases the optical fibre is deployed as an integral component of a completion string, and thus may be classified as a permanent installation. In many cases the costs of including a permanently installed optical fibre system can be significant, and there are also concerns over the longevity of such permanently installed systems.

[0006] The present inventor has proposed, for example in WO 2017 / 009671, to deploy an optical fibre from a tool or device as the tool or device traverses a wellbore, and then use the deployed optical fibre in sensing and / or communication operations. Such an arrangement may permit the optical fibre to be deployed as required, and may avoid costs and reliability concerns with permanent installations.

[0007] A number of considerations are required, such as how extended lengths (e.g., from a few hundred to many thousands of meters) of optical fibre can be effectively packaged within the geometrical constraints of the associated tool and despooled or deployed from the tool. Such extended lengths may be difficult to achieve, and may cause issues during despooling. In this respect, any spooling arrangement must ensure that the fibre can be, as far as possible, deployed with minimal risk of binding, bird nesting, snagging, breaking and / or the like.

[0008] The material properties of optical fibres may also cause issues with despooling and / or deployment of the fibres into the wellbore. While comparatively strong, optical fibres may lack toughness and may be more prone to tensile failure in comparison to other spoolable material such as thread and wire, such that in the event of a snag occurring, there is a higher risk of breakage.

[0009] Furthermore, in conventional spools a bobbin will typically have opposing axial end flanges to prevent slippage of the windings off the ends. However, there is a risk of the fibre becoming pinched against a flange, perhaps preventing the fibre fromdespooling or indeed breakage of the fibre e.g. from excessive compressive and / or tensile loads.

[0010] Accordingly, it is an aim of at least one embodiment of at least one aspect of the present disclosure to obviate or at least mitigate at least one of the above identified shortcomings of the prior art.

[0011] SUMMARY

[0012] Various aspects of the present invention are defined in the independent claims. Some additional features are defined in the dependent claims.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an apparatus for deploying an elongate media in a throughbore, the apparatus comprising:

[0014] a housing;

[0015] a bobbin mounted within the housing such that an elongate media wound around the bobbin is deployable from the housing; and

[0016] a takeoff region for discharging the elongate media from the bobbin, wherein the bobbin comprises a bobbin axis and is configured to discharge the elongate media from the bobbin generally parallel to the bobbin axis; and wherein the takeoff region comprises a clearance gap between the bobbin and the housing, and a resilient portion in the clearance gap, the resilient portion configured to deform by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

[0017] Advantageously, the resilient portion within the clearance gap may elastically deform in response to contact with the elongate media which may reduce (e.g. absorb, dampen, dissipate and / or the like), eliminate or otherwise mitigate against excessive longitudinal tensile and / or crushing compressive loads being applied to the elongate media during deployment from the housing which may significantly reduce the risk of binding, bird nesting, snagging, breaking and / or the like. This may beneficially result in a more reliable and / or low cost means of installing elongate media in e.g. into or throughout, a throughbore.

[0018] It will be appreciated that the apparatus may be configured for traversing any type of throughbore. For example, the throughbore may be defined by pipework or pipeline architecture, such as located at surface (e.g. in a production facility), subsea and / or subterranean. Alternatively, the throughbore may be defined by or within a wellbore, such as used in the exploration and extraction of mineral resources (e.g., oiland gas), in geothermal applications, etc. The throughbore may be defined by a drilled wellbore, a cased or lined wellbore, a tubing or pipe string extending through a wellbore, and / or the like.

[0019] The apparatus may comprise a leading end and a trailing end with respect to an intended direction of travel of the apparatus whilst traversing a throughbore. The apparatus may define an axis extending between the leading and trailing ends which may be referred to throughout this disclosure as a longitudinal axis.

[0020] The apparatus may be configured to traverse a wellbore. In this respect the apparatus may be defined as a downhole device. Where the apparatus is deployed in a wellbore, the leading end may be defined as a downhole end and the trailing end may be defined as an uphole end.

[0021] The apparatus may be configured to traverse a throughbore, such that the elongate media may become deployed within the throughbore. The apparatus may traverse the throughbore by action of gravity, by pumping, by tractoring and / or the like. The apparatus may be self-propelled or may be attached to a self-propelled apparatus and traverse the bore by way of towing, pushing or the like by the self-propelled apparatus.

[0022] In some examples, the elongate media may be connected to a receiver at the surface of the throughbore and deployed through the throughbore via the trailing end of the apparatus as the apparatus traverses the throughbore. Alternatively the apparatus may traverse the throughbore to a (pre-)determined deployment location within the bore (e.g. the bottom or lowermost location in the bore or the like), and deploy the elongate media from the deployment location e.g. by reeling in a surface line or cable coupled to the elongate media.

[0023] It will be appreciated that tensile loads may be the result of snagging or the like (e.g. on an inner surface of the throughbore) of the elongate media within or external to the apparatus which may increase the ‘tension’ on the elongate media. As the tension of the elongate media is increased the elongate media may be ‘pulled’ against the bobbin (e.g. against an end or flange of the bobbin) during discharge from the bobbin creating a tensile load in a longitudinal direction of the elongate media, which may result in failure or weakening (e.g. reduced long term reliability) of the elongate media.

[0024] The term “clearance gap” used in the present disclosure may refer to a gap through which the elongate media may transit during discharge from the bobbin and / or deployment from the housing and / or the like. In use, the size of the clearance gap mayvary e.g. due to the mounting of the bobbin within the housing and / or the relative movement (e.g. lateral movement) of the housing and bobbin in the apparatus.

[0025] It will be appreciated that compressive loads (which may occur concurrently or independently of tensile loads) may be the result of pinching, trapping or the like of the elongate media in the clearance gap (e.g. between an outer surface of the bobbin and an inner surface of the housing) applying an instantaneous and / or steady state compressive radial or crushing load to the ‘trapped’ or ‘pinched’ portion of the elongate media which may result in failure or weakening (e.g. reduced long term reliability) of the elongate media.

[0026] It will be appreciated that mitigating against excessive tensile and / or compressive loads applied to the elongate media may include reducing the impulse of the force applied to the elongate media. That is the mitigation may include reducing the force applied and / or increasing the duration of the time across which the force is applied. Thus the stress on the elongate media from the tensile and / or compressive loads applied to the elongate media may be further reduced.

[0027] The bobbin may comprise or define any cross-section. An outer surface of at least part of the bobbin may be curved, for example circular. An outer surface of at least part of the bobbin may be polygonal, regular or irregular. In such an arrangement an outer surface of at least a portion of the bobbin may comprise or define a flat surface.

[0028] The takeoff region and / or resilient portion may comprise a geometrical feature located on and / or integrated with the bobbin and / or the inner surface of the housing, such as an upset portion, annular lip, bump or the like. The resilient portion may comprise one or more independent resilient members (e.g. annular resilient members). Alternatively or additionally, the resilient portion may comprise one or more resilient portions integrated into the bobbin and / or housing e.g. 3-D printed, deposited, machined or the like or using any other suitable additive and / or subtractive manufacturing techniques. The takeoff region may be configured to improve discharge of the elongate media from the bobbin.

[0029] The elongate media may be a fibre, for example an optical fibre, although it will be understood that the invention is not limited as such. A fibre may be particularly prone to damage as a result of excessive tensile and / or compressive loads.

[0030] It will be appreciated that although the resilient portion may be configured to deform by at least the diameter of the elongate media, in other examples the resilient portion may be configured to deform by only a part of the diameter of the elongatemedia. Beneficially, this may still provide partial mitigation of excessive tensile and / or compressive loads applied to the elongate media during deployment of the elongate media from the housing.

[0031] A length of the elongate media may be wound around the bobbin axis to form a plurality of wrap segments arranged axially along the bobbin axis, as for example described in WO 2019 / 016538, which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the housing may comprise first and second bobbins of elongate media. The elongate media may be de-spoolable simultaneously from respective first and second bobbins during movement of the apparatus through the throughbore, as for example described in WO 2019 / 138236, which is incorporated herein by reference. Where the elongate media is an optical fibre the apparatus may comprise a downhole optical transmitter configured to emit an optical signal for transmission through the optical fibre between an uphole location and the apparatus, as for example described in WO 2020 / 079410, which is incorporated herein by reference. In some examples, the housing may comprise an isolating fluid for isolating the elongate media from the fluid entering the housing from the throughbore, as for example described in WO 2021 / 043479 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0032] The bobbin may be mounted in cantilever form within the housing. In this respect the bobbin may define a fixed or proximal end, and a free or distal end. In examples, the elongate media may be discharged from the free or distal end of the bobbin.

[0033] The resilient portion may comprises a first annular resilient member extending from an outer surface of the bobbin, beneficially providing at least a part of the deformation (e.g. elastic deformation) which may be required in the takeoff region to mitigate against any excessive tensile and / or compressive loads being applied to the elongate media during deployment.

[0034] The outer surface of the bobbin may comprise an annular recess configured to receive the first annular resilient member. Securing the first annular resilient member in this way may mitigate against any potential movement of the first annular resilient member along the bobbin, e.g. in the longitudinal axis direction which may otherwise reduce the effectiveness of the first annular resilient member. Advantageously, this may result in a simpler and lower cost manufacture and / or installation operation of the first annular resilient member (e.g. less or no adhesive may be required) to the bobbin. This may also beneficially allow the use of standard components such as o-rings,bridge rings and / or the like as the first annular resilient member further reducing the cost and / or complexity of the overall apparatus.

[0035] The first annular resilient member may extend from the outer surface of the bobbin by at least the diameter of the elongate media. In this way the first annular resilient member may provide all of the deformation required in the takeoff region to mitigate against any excessive tensile and / or compressive loads being applied to the elongate media during deployment. Advantageously, this means any suitable existing apparatus (or apparatus design) may be used, with only the bobbin modified to include the first annular resilient member further reducing the cost and / or complexity of the overall apparatus.

[0036] The first annular resilient member may comprise a first outer annular recess e.g. on at least a portion of an outer annular surface of the first resilient member. The first outer annular recess may be configured to store a coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating. The elongate media may be coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.

[0037] Advantageously, the coating may assist with providing a degree of resistance to deployment from the apparatus (and / or the housing) in which the bobbin is mounted, which may be desirable in certain uses of the apparatus. The coating may provide a degree of protection to the elongate media, before, during and / or after discharge from the bobbin. In some examples the coating may comprise a fluidic material, such as a viscous material. The coating may comprise a grease, or other similar non-Newtonian fluid, such as a shear thickening fluid, shear thinning fluid or the like. The coating may be considered to be functionally adhesive. The coating may exhibit an NGLI number of between 000 to 6, for example between 0 and 5, such as between 2 and 4, for example 3. In some examples multiple different types of coating may be provided, for example along different axial length portions of the fibre.

[0038] The elongate media may be coated with a coating prior to being wound on the bobbin. The elongate media may be coated with a coating during the process of winding the elongate media on the bobbin. For example, the coating may be spray deposited on the elongate media during winding. In one example the coating, such as a grease, may be provided on the bobbin prior to winding the elongate media on the bobbin. As such, winding the elongate media on the bobbin may cause the fibre to become coated. The coating may be initially deposited into the first outer annular recess of the first resilient member from the elongate media whilst transiting the takeoff region.The first annular resilient member may comprise a first inner annular recess e.g. on at least a portion of an inner annular surface of the first resilient member facing the outer surface of the bobbin. The first annular resilient member may be configured such that the first annular resilient member may additionally or alternatively deform to at least partially fill the void provided by the first inner annular recess. This may reduce the (elastic) deformation required from the first annular resilient member further reducing the cost and / or complexity of the overall apparatus.

[0039] The resilient portion may comprises a second annular resilient member extending from an inner surface of the housing, beneficially providing at least a part of the deformation (e.g. elastic deformation) which may be required in the takeoff region to mitigate against any excessive tensile and / or compressive loads being applied to the elongate media during deployment.

[0040] The inner surface of the housing may comprise an annular recess configured to receive the second annular resilient member. Securing the second annular resilient member in this way may mitigate against any potential movement of the second annular resilient member along the inner surface of the housing, e.g. in the longitudinal axis direction which may otherwise reduce the effectiveness of the second annular resilient member. Advantageously, this may result in a simpler and lower cost manufacture and / or installation operation of the second annular resilient member (e.g. less or no adhesive may be required) to the inner surface of the housing. This may also beneficially allow the use of standard components such as o-rings, bridge rings and / or the like as the second annular resilient member further reducing the cost and / or complexity of the overall apparatus.

[0041] The second annular resilient member may extend from the inner surface of the housing by at least the diameter of the elongate media. In this way the second annular resilient member may provide all of the deformation required in the takeoff region to mitigate against any excessive tensile and / or compressive loads being applied to the elongate media during deployment. Advantageously, this means any suitable existing apparatus (or apparatus design) may be used with any suitable existing bobbin, with only the housing modified to include the second annular resilient member, further reducing the cost and / or complexity of the overall apparatus.

[0042] The second annular resilient member may comprise a second inner annular recess. The second inner annular recess may be configured to store a / the coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating. The elongate media may be coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.The second annular resilient member may comprise a second outer annular recess e.g. on at least a portion of an outer annular surface of the second resilient member facing the inner surface of the housing. The second annular resilient member may be configured such that the second annular resilient member may additionally or alternatively deform to at least partially fill the void provided by the second outer annular recess. This may reduce the deformation required from the second annular resilient member further reducing the cost and / or complexity of the overall apparatus.

[0043] At least a portion of the second annular resilient member (e.g. a bridge ring around the internal surface of the housing) may overlap at least a portion of the first resilient member (e.g. an o-ring around an external surface the bobbin) in the longitudinal axis direction (e.g. a portion greater than or equal to the diameter of the elongate media). In this way, at least a part of the deformation which may be required in the takeoff region to mitigate against any excessive tensile and / or compressive loads being applied to the elongate media during deployment may be provided by each of the first and second annular resilient members.

[0044] In some examples, this may allow each of the first and second overlapping annular resilient members to extend by a comparatively less degree than an apparatus comprising only the first or second annular resilient member or an apparatus where the first and second annular resilient members do not overlap, which may reduce the cost and / or complexity of each of the annular resilient members.

[0045] In other examples, each of the first and second annular resilient members may be configured to provide most or all of the required deformation which may provide redundancy in case one or other of the first or second annular resilient members fails (e.g. degrades, breaks, fractures and / or the like) before or during deployment of the elongate media. This may beneficially result in a yet more reliable and / or low cost means of installing elongate media into or throughout a throughbore.

[0046] The takeoff region and / or clearance gap may be provided at or towards an end of the bobbin. The takeoff region and / or clearance gap may be provided at or towards an end of the bobbin proximal to the trailing end of the apparatus (e.g. adjacent a winding surface of the bobbin). The takeoff region may be provided at or towards the trailing end of the apparatus. The takeoff region may be provided at or towards an end of the housing proximal to the trailing end of the apparatus.

[0047] At least a portion of the bobbin extending from the takeoff region towards an end of the bobbin, e.g. an end of the bobbin distal to the trailing end of the apparatus, may be tapered relative to the bobbin axis. The taper may be linear. The taper may becurved. The taper may be defined by a conical surface of the bobbin. In some examples the entire outer surface of the bobbin (e.g. the entirety of a winding surface upon which the elongate media is wound) may be tapered. Alternatively, only a portion of the outer surface may be tapered. The tapered portion may be configured to store a / the coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.

[0048] The resilient portion may comprise an elastomeric material e.g. a rubber, rubber-like solid or other suitable elastomer. The deformation may be elastic deformation. Beneficially the use of a material capable of elastic deformation may permit longer term protection of the elongate media during deployment.

[0049] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a bobbin for mounting within a housing such that such that an elongate media wound around the bobbin is deployable from the housing, the bobbin comprising:

[0050] a bobbin axis, wherein the bobbin is configured to discharge the elongate media generally parallel to the bobbin axis; and

[0051] a takeoff region for discharging the elongate media from the bobbin; wherein the takeoff region comprises an annular resilient member extending from an outer surface of the bobbin.

[0052] The bobbin may be configured to be mounted in cantilever form within the housing. In this respect the bobbin may define a fixed or proximal end, and a free or distal end. In examples, the elongate media may be discharged from the free or distal end of the bobbin.

[0053] The annular resilient member may be configured to deform (e.g. elastically deform) by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

[0054] The annular resilient member may extend from the outer surface of the bobbin by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

[0055] The takeoff region may comprise an annular recess configured to receive the annular resilient member.

[0056] The takeoff region may be provided at or towards an end of the bobbin. The takeoff region may be provided at or towards the free or distal end of the bobbin. The takeoff region may be provided adjacent a winding surface of the bobbin.At least a portion of the resilient member may comprises a coating. The coating may comprise grease or any other suitable coating as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

[0057] The annular resilient member may comprise an outer annular recess. The outer annular recess may be configured to store a coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating. The elongate media may be coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.

[0058] At least a portion of the bobbin extending from the takeoff region may be tapered relative to the bobbin axis.

[0059] The tapered portion may be configured to store a / the coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the discharge region.

[0060] The elongate media may be a fibre, for example an optical fibre.

[0061] The resilient portion may comprise an elastomeric material e.g. a rubber, rubber-like solid or other suitable elastomer. The deformation may be elastic deformation. Beneficially the use of a material capable of elastic deformation may permit longer term protection of the elongate media during deployment.

[0062] Although the examples described herein relate to an apparatus comprising first and / or second annular resilient members, it will be understood that the apparatus may comprise a plurality of first annular resilient members and / or a plurality of second annular resilient members. For example the apparatus may comprise a single bridge ring on the inner surface of the housing and a plurality of o-rings on the outer surface of the bobbin. Other suitable arrangements of first and second annular resilient members will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the present disclosure.

[0063] Although the examples described herein relate to an apparatus with a single bobbin, it will be understood that the apparatus may comprise a plurality of bobbins, each mounted within the housing such an elongate media may be discharged from one or more or each of the bobbins and deployed from the housing. In examples the apparatus may comprise a single housing or a plurality of housings, with each housing comprising one or more bobbins. In examples the apparatus may comprise a plurality of takeoff regions and / or clearance gaps and or resilient portions, each corresponding to one or more of the plurality of bobbins. Other suitable arrangements of bobbins will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the present disclosure.

[0064] It will also be understood that the terms “first”, “second” and “third” are simply used in the present disclosure to label the relevant elements for the ease ofdescription, and do not necessarily imply any limitations to the sequence or the total number of the relevant elements.

[0065] The above summary is intended to be merely exemplary and non-limiting. The disclosure includes one or more corresponding aspects, embodiments or features in isolation or in various combinations whether or not specifically stated (including claimed) in that combination or in isolation. It should be understood that features defined above in accordance with any aspect of the present disclosure or below relating to any specific embodiment of the disclosure may be utilized, either alone or in combination with any other defined feature, in any other aspect or embodiment or to form a further aspect or embodiment of the disclosure.

[0066] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures, in which:

[0068] Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a device being deployed through a wellbore;

[0069] Figure 2 is a part sectional side elevation view of the device of Figure 1 ;

[0070] Figure 3a is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 2;

[0071] Figure 3b is a detailed sectional view of an alternative device;

[0072] Figure 4a is a part sectional end and side elevation view of a device;

[0073] Figure 4b is a part sectional end and side elevation view of a device;

[0074] Figure 4c is a part sectional end and side elevation view of a device;

[0075] Figure 5a is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 4a;

[0076] Figure 5b is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 4a;

[0077] Figure 5c is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 4a;Figure 6a is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 4b;

[0078] Figure 6b is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 4b; and

[0079] Figure 6c is a detailed sectional view of the device of Figure 4b.

[0080] In the Figures, like parts are denoted by like reference numerals.

[0081] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0082] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a device which may include a bobbin of elongate media (for example an optical fibre) mounted in the device such that the fibre may be deployed from the device. The device may traverse through a bore, such that the fibre becomes deployed within the bore. Alternatively the device may traverse through a bore to a deployment location within the bore, and subsequently the fibre may be deployed within the bore from the device positioned at the deployment location (e.g. located at the bottom or lowermost part of the bore). The device may be used in many applications or environments.

[0083] For the purposes of the present description the device is for use within a wellbore and the elongate media is an optical fibre deployed as the device traverses the wellbore under the action of gravity, but it should be recognised that this is merely exemplary. It should be understood that the drawings presented are not provided to scale, and may not reflect actual dimensions, ratios, angles, number of features and the like.

[0084] Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a device 10 deployed within a wellbore 12. The device 10 includes a spool 14 of optical fibre 16, such that as the device 10 traverses the wellbore 12 the fibre 16 is deployed from an exit 18 at the trailing end of the device 10. The fibre 16 may be used during or after deployment for multiple applications, such as for communication. In some examples the fibre 16 may be used for distributed sensing within the wellbore 12, such as distributed temperate sensing (DTS), distributed pressure sensing (DPS), distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), or the like.

[0085] A side view of the device 10 is provided in Figure 2, with a housing 22 of the device 10 shown in cross-section, wherein the housing 22 accommodates the spool of optical fibre. The device 10 is generally cylindrical in form, and in the present example includes centralising elements 20 at opposing ends thereof for facilitating centralisationof the device 10 in the wellbore 12 of Figure 1. A bobbin 24 of the spool is shown with no fibre wound thereon for clarity purposes. The bobbin 24 is mounted within the housing 22 in cantilever form such that the bobbin 24 defines a fixed or proximal end 26 and a free or distal end 28, and arranged to be generally coaxial with the longitudinal axis 30 of the device 10.

[0086] The device 10 includes an internal funnel 32 which functions to guide fibre despooled from the bobbin 24 towards the exit 18. The exit 18 includes a throughbore 34 which is dimensioned to a similar diameter as the fibre, and in some examples the bore 34 may provide a degree of resistance to fibre passing therethrough. This may assist to control the rate of fibre deployment. In some examples a volume of grease or similar material may be provided within the housing 22, for example within the internal funnel 32. Such grease may become coated on a fibre during deployment from the device 10. The grease may function to provide a degree of resistance to the deployment of the fibre, to permit the fibre to stick to a wall of the wellbore 12, to protect the fibre, to provide lubrication to the fibre and / or the like.

[0087] The bobbin 24 includes a conical or tapered portion 38 at or towards the distal end 28 of the bobbin 24. In some examples the volume of grease or similar material may additionally or alternatively collect on the tapered portion 38 (e.g. prior to installation or from excess grease on the fibre itself) such that the fibre is coated during deployment from the device 10.

[0088] Figure 3a is a detailed view of area denoted X in Figure 2 of device 10 showing a fibre 58 being discharged from the end 18 of the device 10 after passing through a clearance gap Y provided between the distal end 28 of the bobbin 24 and the inner surface of the housing 22. In this example the bobbin 24 comprises an annular resilient member 44 seated within an annular recess 43 at the distal end 28 of the bobbin 24. The annular resilient member 44 comprises an annular recess 45 configured to store a coating (for example a grease or the like) described in more detail with reference to Figure 5c below. The annular resilient member 44 extends from the outer surface of the bobbin 24 by a distance greater than the diameter of the fibre 58. If, during deployment of the fibre 58 or otherwise, the clearance gap Y is reduced such that the distal end 28 of bobbin 24 (mounted within the housing 22 in cantilever form) traps, pinches, or crushes the fibre 58 against the inner surface of the housing 22, the annular resilient member 44 elastically deforms to mitigate against radial or crushing compressive loads on the fibre 58 due to the contact. Similarly if the tension on the fibre 58 increases e.g.due to snagging whilst exiting the device 10, the annular resilient member 44 elastically deforms to mitigate against the resulting longitudinal tensile loads on the fibre 58.

[0089] Figure 3b is a detailed view of an alternative device 10a to that shown in Figure 3a, with the fibre 58 omitted for clarity purposes. In this example, the housing 22 comprises an annular resilient member 44a adhered (e.g. glued, bonded or the like) to an inner surface of the housing 22 at an end of the housing 22 proximal to the distal end 28 of the bobbin 24. The annular resilient member 44a comprises an annular recess 46 on the outer surface of the annular resilient member 44a i.e. on the surface adhered to the inner surface of the housing 22 described in more detail with reference to Figure 6c below. The annular resilient member 44a extends from the inner surface of the housing 22 by a distance greater than the diameter of the fibre 58. If the distal end 28 of bobbin 24 (mounted within the housing 22 in cantilever form) traps, pinches, or crushes the fibre 58 against the inner surface of the housing 22, the annular resilient member 44a elastically deforms to mitigate against radial or crushing compressive loads on the fibre 58 due to the contact. The bobbin 24 further comprises a tapered portion 38 storing a volume of grease 37 such that the fibre 58 is coated with the grease 37 during deployment from the device 10a.

[0090] Figures 4a to 4c are sectional views of devices having alternative arrangements of annular resilient members. Figure 4a shows an end and cross (along line A-A) sectional view of a device 10 (such as the device 10 of Figures 2 and 3a) comprising an annular resilient member 44 installed on the outer surface of the bobbin 24 only. Figure 4b shows an end and cross (along line B-B) sectional view of a device 10a (such as the device 10a of Figure 3b) comprising an annular resilient member 44a installed on the inner surface of the housing 22 only. Figure 4c shows an end and cross (along line C-C) sectional view of a device 10c comprising annular resilient members 44 / 44a installed on both the outer surface of the bobbin 24 and the inner surface of the housing 22 such that the annular resilient members 44 / 44a overlap along the longitudinal axis direction 30 of the device 10b.

[0091] Figures 5a and 5b are detailed views of the area denoted D in Figure 4a illustrating an annular resilient member 44 installed in an annular recess of a bobbin 24 of a device such as the device 10 of Figure 4a. The annular resilient member 44 extends from the outer surface of the bobbin 24 by a distance d greater than the diameter of the fibre 58. This example illustrates a case whereby the outer surface of the end of the bobbin 24 has trapped, pinched, or crushed the fibre 58 against the inner surface of the housing 22 during discharge of the fibre 58 from the bobbin 24. Theannular resilient member 44 has elastically deformed by the diameter of the fibre 58 such that the radial or crushing compressive load on the fibre 58 due to the contact is significantly reduced or eliminated.

[0092] Figure 5c is a detailed view of the area denoted E in Figure 4a illustrating an annular resilient member 44 installed in an annular recess 43 of a bobbin 24 of a device such as the device 10 of Figure 4a. The annular resilient member 44 comprises an annular recess 45 configured to store a coating (for example a grease or the like) such that the fibre 58 is coated with the coating during discharge of the fibre 58 from the bobbin 24.

[0093] Figures 6a and 6b are detailed views of the area denoted F in Figure 4b illustrating an annular resilient member 44a adhered (e.g. glued, bonded or the like) to an inner surface of a housing 22 of a device such as the device 10a of Figure 4b. The annular resilient member 44a extends from the inner surface of the housing 22 by a distance d greater than the diameter of the fibre 58. This example illustrates a further case whereby the outer surface of the end of the bobbin 24 has trapped, pinched or crushed the fibre 58 against the inner surface of the housing 22 during discharge of the fibre 58 from the bobbin 24. The annular resilient member 44a has elastically deformed by the diameter of the fibre 58 such that the radial or crushing compressive load on the fibre 58 due to the contact is significantly reduced or eliminated.

[0094] Figure 6c is a detailed view of the area denoted G in Figure 4b illustrating an annular resilient member 44a adhered to an inner surface of a housing 22 of a device such as the device 10a of Figure 4b. The annular resilient member 44a of Figure 6c comprises an annular recess 46 on the outer surface of the annular resilient member 44a i.e. on the surface adhered to the inner surface of the housing 22. The annular recess 46 is configured such that the annular resilient member 44a may additionally or alternatively deform to at least partially fill the void provided by the annular recess 46. This may reduce the elastic deformation required from the annular resilient member 44a further reducing the cost and / or complexity of each of the annular resilient members.

[0095] The apparatus disclosed herein, or at least some components of the apparatus, may be manufactured in any suitable manner, such as using conventional manufacturing processes. Accordingly, examples described herein not only include the apparatus and associated components, but also methods of manufacturing the apparatus or associated components via conventional manufacturing processes. InM&C PA991485W0

[0096] 16

[0097] some examples, the apparatus, or any individual component or groups of components may be manufactured by additive manufacturing.

[0098] The terms “having”, “containing”, “including”, “comprising” and the like are open and the terms indicate the presence of stated structures, elements or features but do not preclude the presence of additional elements or features. The articles “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural as well as the singular, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0099] Although the disclosure has been described in terms of specific embodiments as set forth above, it should be understood that these embodiments are illustrative only and that the claims are not limited to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art will be able to make modifications and alternatives in view of the disclosure which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the appended claims. Each feature disclosed or illustrated in the present specification may be incorporated in the disclosure, whether alone or in any appropriate combination with any other feature disclosed or illustrated herein.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An apparatus for deploying an elongate media in a throughbore, the apparatus comprising:a housing;a bobbin mounted within the housing such that an elongate media wound around the bobbin is deployable from the housing; anda takeoff region for discharging the elongate media from the bobbin, wherein the bobbin comprises a bobbin axis and is configured to discharge the elongate media from the bobbin generally parallel to the bobbin axis; and wherein the takeoff region comprises a clearance gap between the bobbin and the housing, and a resilient portion in the clearance gap, the resilient portion configured to deform by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bobbin is mounted in cantilever form within the housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the resilient portion comprises a first annular resilient member extending from an outer surface of the bobbin.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the outer surface of the bobbin comprises an annular recess configured to receive the first annular resilient member.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 or 4, wherein the first annular resilient member extends from the outer surface of the bobbin by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the first annular resilient member comprises a first outer annular recess configured to store a coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the clearance gap.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 3 to 6 wherein the first annular resilient member comprises a first inner annular recess.

8. The apparatus of any preceding claim wherein the resilient portion comprises a second annular resilient member extending from an inner surface of the housing.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the inner surface of the housing comprises an annular recess configured to receive the second annular resilient member.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the second annular resilient member extends from the inner surface of the housing by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the second annular resilient member comprises a second inner annular recess configured to store a / the coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the clearance gap.

12. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 to 11 wherein the second annular resilient member comprises a second outer annular recess.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 to 12 when dependent on any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein at least a portion of the second annular resilient member overlaps at least a portion of the first resilient member.

14. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the clearance gap is provided at or towards an end of the bobbin.

15. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein at least a portion of the bobbin extending from the clearance gap is tapered relative to the bobbin axis, and wherein the tapered portion is configured to store a / the coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.

16. The apparatus of any preceding claim wherein the resilient portion comprises an elastomeric material such as a rubber or a rubber-like solid; and / or wherein the elongate media comprises a fibre such as an optical fibre.1917. A bobbin for mounting within a housing such that an elongate media wound around the bobbin is deployable from the housing, the bobbin comprising:a bobbin axis, wherein the bobbin is configured to discharge the elongate media generally parallel to the bobbin axis; anda takeoff region for discharging the elongate media from the bobbin; wherein the takeoff region comprises an annular resilient member extending from an outer surface of the bobbin.

18. The bobbin of claim 17, wherein the bobbin is configured to be mounted in cantilever form within the housing.

19. The bobbin of claim 17 or 18 wherein the annular resilient member is configured to deform by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

20. The bobbin of any one of claims 17 to 19 wherein the annular resilient member extends from the outer surface of the bobbin by at least the diameter of the elongate media.

21. The bobbin of any one of claims 17 to 20 wherein the takeoff region comprises an annular recess configured to receive the annular resilient member.

22. The bobbin of any one of claims 17 to 21 wherein the takeoff region is provided at or towards an end of the bobbin.

23. The bobbin of any one of claims 17 to 22 wherein the annular resilient member comprises an outer annular recess configured to store a coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.

24. The bobbin any one of claims 17 to 23 wherein at least a portion of the bobbin extending from the takeoff region is tapered relative to the bobbin axis, and wherein the tapered portion is configured to store a / the coating such that the elongate media is coated with the coating whilst transiting the takeoff region.2025. The bobbin of any one of claims 17 to 24 wherein the resilient member comprises an elastomeric material such as a rubber or a rubber-like solid; and / orwherein the elongate media comprises a fibre such as an optical fibre.

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