MULTIPLE RING GUIDE FOR PAYOUT TESTING OF OPTICAL FIBERS

摘要

A fiber optic canister (14) is tested by drawing an optical fiber (12) from a generally cylindrical bobbin (16) upon which it is wound, in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (18) of the bobbin (16). The optical fiber (12) is directed toward the drawing location (30) of the payout drive (20), and transverse vibrations in the optical fiber (12) are damped, by a guide (40) formed as a series of spaced-apart guide rings (42) having their centers aligned along a common axis (50) that is preferably coincident with the axis (18) of the bobbin (16). The guide rings (42) have central apertures (44) that decrease in diameter from the guide rings (42) nearest the canister (14) toward the payout drive (20), defining a converging locus (36) for the optical fiber (12) as it travels from the bobbin (16) to the payout drive (20).