Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Electrostatic cleaning
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-03
2001-03-06
Moore, Chris K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Electrostatic cleaning
C015S306100, C015S345000, C015S404000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195827
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrostatic air blower intended preferably for blowing clean optofibers without the risk of contaminating the optofibers with, e.g., metal particles that might possibly be loosened from electrodes used in a cleaning process.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART
It is, known to clean the ends of optofibers manually prior to joining or splicing said ends together, either with the aid of mechanical means or with the aid of a cleaning agent. It is also known to clean the ends of optofibers prior to welding together said ends with the aid of electrodes. Published patent specification DE 3 932 319 A1 teaches a method and a device with which the ends of optofibers are cleaned by generating an electric field between the tip of an electrode and a respective end of said optofiber, therewith enabling contaminants on said end to be released and drawn away by suction The Abstract of Japanese patent application JP 59 013 641 A discloses a method of removing particles from an optofiber electrostatically with the aid of an ioniaed gas flow, in an optof iber manufacturing process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is necessary to clean the ends of optofibers before welding said fibers together. According to the invention, contaminants present on th ends of optofibers can be easily and effectively removed therefrom with the aid of a so-called electrostatic air blower and then removed by suction, such as to clean the ends of said optofibers effectively prior to welding the ends together. The electrostatic air blower comprises two ceramic plasma cannons which are spaced a given distance apart and directed towards one another. Each plasma cannon includes a ceramic tube which surrounds an electrode. Repeated discharges between the electrodes in respective tubes results in the build-up of pressure waves in the air between the tube orifices, wherewith an optofiber or one and of an optofiber placed in the proxity of the es of said tubes, close to their symmetry ages, will be subjected to the effect of these pressure waves and any contaminants present on the optofibre, such as dust and particles of dirt, blown away thereby. Thewe freed contaminants can then be sucked away with the aid of a suction device provided to this end.
Plasma cannons may also be used to expand the core of an optofiber and to heat treat the optofiber itself. The expansion/diffusion of the core of the optofiber is achieved by heating a given length of the optofiber to a given temperature over a given period of time. When the fiber core has a higher doping concentration than the cladding and is heated to a given temperature immediately beneath its melting point, the dopant concentration in the core will decrease gradually due to diffusion of the dopanta in the glass mass, The fiber core of an optofiber can be caused to eaaand after a given period of time, by moving said optofiber backwards and forwards at a constant speed between two plasma cannons that generate continuously a specific (non-pulsating) plasma heating effect. Expansion of the core is proportional to the temperature and to the time in which the optofiber is exposed to the heat. The fiber core can also be expanded over a given length of the fiber, by moving the optofiber between the orifices or mouths of two plasma cannons. The method can also be applied to match the core diameters of two optofibers that have mutually different core diameters, prior to welding said optofibers together. Heat treatment is effected by heating the optofiber to a given temperature without initiating core-diffusion of the fiber, simply by moving the optofiber between two active plasma cannons at a high speed. The method can also be applied to stabilize short fiber gratings after writing the gratings into an optofiber.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a preferred odiment thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3128492 (1964-04-01), Hanscom
patent: 4213167 (1980-07-01), Cumming et al.
patent: 4241377 (1980-12-01), Cumming
patent: 4727614 (1988-03-01), Swistun
patent: 4751759 (1988-06-01), Zoell
patent: 5056185 (1991-10-01), Schotter
patent: 3932319 A1 (1991-04-01), None
patent: 0 524 415 A2 (1993-01-01), None
Japanese Patent Abstract of 59-13641 dated Jan. 24, 1984.
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Moore Chris K.
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
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