Patent ID: 7252262

Claim:
A protective cover detachably fixed onto a spool, on which an optical fiber is wound, to protect the optical fiber in association with the spool, said protective cover comprising: a pair of cover members each having a half-cylindrical surface and coupled together by a hinge at one edges of said half-cylindrical surfaces of both said cover members; and a locking mechanism for releasably locking together both said cover members at the other edges of said half-cylindrical surfaces of both said cover members, said locking mechanism including a receiving member fixed onto a vicinity of the other edge of said half-cylindrical surface of one of said cover members, and an engagement member fixed onto a vicinity of the other edge of said half-cylindrical surface of the other of said cover members and capable of being inserted in or released from said receiving member, wherein: said engagement member is configured as an elastic stripe body, which has a fixed end fixed onto a fixing surface of the other of said cover members, a free end extending from said fixed end and having thereon an locking protrusion capable of being engaged with said receiving member after insertion of said free end into said receiving member, and a pressing section formed in a vicinity of said fixed end, said pressing section releasing engagement of said free end from said receiving member when said pressing section is pressed toward said fixing surface against elasticity of said elastic stripe body.