Fiber Guide Head With Adhesive Bead Placement for Premises Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for installing optical fibers inside user premises are time-consuming, require frequent ladder use, and can damage surfaces or cause fibers to be pulled out of adhesive beads due to their weight, necessitating improved tools and techniques for faster, safer, and more secure installations.
Innovation Solution
A guide tool device and system that uses a small form factor fiber with reduced weight and diameter, combined with an adhesive dispensing gun, allowing simultaneous adhesive deposition and fiber positioning without a ladder, and a retention clip for spools, ensuring the fiber remains embedded in the adhesive bead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional fiber installation methods are used, then the fiber can be installed, but the installer must frequently move and climb a ladder to reach elevated portions, increasing installation time and safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber is divided into segments: a first portion is embedded in adhesive deposited on the ceiling, while a second portion extends downward to the floor. This segmentation allows different portions of the fiber to be installed using different methods, eliminating the need for repeated ladder climbing while ensuring proper installation at elevated locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive is deposited on the ceiling in advance, creating a prepared bonding surface before the fiber is positioned. This preliminary action allows the fiber to be securely attached at elevated locations without requiring the installer to be physically present at those heights during the final positioning step.
2Strength
If heavy conventional fiber is used, then the fiber has sufficient strength, but the weight can pull the fiber out of uncured adhesive beads
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber diameter is changed from conventional sizes to a smaller diameter (e.g., 200 micrometers), which significantly reduces the weight while maintaining sufficient tensile strength for installation. This parameter change allows the fiber to be light enough not to pull out of uncured adhesive beads while still being strong enough for handling and installation.
3Productivity
If staples are used to secure the fiber, then installation time is reduced and cost is low, but the fiber can be physically damaged or the wall/molding impaired
Solution Approach 1:
Adhesive serves as an intermediary substance between the fiber and the ceiling surface, providing a secure bonding mechanism that does not require mechanical fasteners. This intermediary approach allows the fiber to be firmly attached while avoiding the damaging effects of staples on both the fiber and the wall or molding surfaces.
4Ease of manufacture
If moldings or conduits are used to conceal the fiber, then aesthetics are improved, but hardware cost increases and installation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive itself serves the dual function of both securing the fiber and providing aesthetic concealment. By embedding the fiber directly in the adhesive bead on the ceiling, the system eliminates the need for separate moldings or conduits, achieving aesthetic concealment through the adhesive application rather than through additional hardware components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates quicker and safer fiber installations with reduced ladder use, minimizes damage to surfaces, and prevents fibers from being pulled out of uncured adhesive, enhancing installation efficiency and aesthetics.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesive deposits a bead in which a fiber is embedded
Implementation Method 2
the weight of an uninstalled length of fiber will not cause a previously installed length of the fiber to be urged out of a bead that is not yet cured
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4A
Figure 4B~5
AI summary
A guide tool device for an optical fiber or cord includes a tool base that mounts on an adhesive syringe. A cord guide head has a flat leading edge, a key removably insertable into a keyway in the tool base, a guide channel for guiding a fiber toward the leading edge, and a tube for receiving an adhesive. An opening in the guide channel communicates adhesive from the tube into the channel, for applying the adhesive along a fiber while it is guided toward the leading edge on the guide head. A fitting is arranged to connect in sealing relationship with a distal end of the syringe, and a flexible tubing is connected between the fitting and the other end of the tube on the cord guide head. When urged toward the distal end of the syringe, the adhesive is communicated into the guide channel in the cord guide head.