Deployable optical fiber cartridge

摘要

A spool has a cylinder, a first flange coupled to a first end of the cylinder and a second flange coupled to a second end of the cylinder. A compressible material surrounds the cylinder and an optical fiber is wrapped around the compressible material. When tension is applied to the optical fiber the compressible material can be deformed to reduce the tension on the optical fiber. When submerged underwater the water pressure will not compress the compressible material.

主权项

1. An apparatus for use with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in underwater applications comprising:
a spool having:
a cylindrical section having a plurality of water flow holes that extend through a curved portion of a cylindrical wall;a first flange coupled to one end of the cylindrical section;a second flange coupled to a second end of the cylindrical section; anda compressible cylinder surrounding the cylindrical section, the compressible cylinder made of an open cell foam material which is filled with ambient water; an optical fiber wrapped around the compressible cylinder, a first end of the optical fiber coupled to the ROV;wherein the plurality of water flow holes are adjacent to the compressible cylinder which allows the ambient water to flow through the plurality of holes directly into the compressible cylinder.