Optical waveguides – Optical fiber bundle
Patent
1994-09-27
1995-09-12
Bovernick, Rodney B.
Optical waveguides
Optical fiber bundle
385125, G02B 606
Patent
active
054505160
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a hollow fiber bundle composed of hollow fibers arranged in layers on top of one another and of fiber layers located between the hollow fiber layers, in which, as seen in a top view of the hollow fiber bundle, the hollow fibers are made undulating or essentially rectilinear and the fibers, which have a smaller diameter than the hollow fibers, are made undulating, and the fibers are so designed and/or arranged that the hollow fibers and the fibers intersect at several locations and are laid one on top of the other, and are not woven, knit, or otherwise joined.
BACKGROUND
Hollow fiber bundles composed of intersecting hollow fibers extending essentially in the lengthwise direction of the hollow fiber bundle are sufficiently known (U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,006). Depending on the nature of the hollow fibers employed, they are used to transfer heat and/or material in the technical area, for example for reverse osmosis, ultra- or microfiltration, pervaporation, membrane distillation, etc., and also especially in the medical area, in which application they are used especially for treating blood, for example in dialysis, blood oxygenation, plasma separation, plasmapheresis, hemofiltration, blood heat exchangers, etc. The hollow fiber bundle according to the invention can also be used for all of these applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In contrast to known hollow fiber bundles, the hollow fiber bundle according to the invention represents a considerable improvement because of the fiber layers disposed between the hollow fiber layers, since this produces much higher heat transfer and/or material transfer or material exchange capability with the same quantity of hollow fibers. Even when the number of all the fiber cross-sectional areas for example amounts to only 1% of all the hollow fiber cross sectional areas in a hollow fiber bundle according to the invention, the increase in performance as compared with a hollow fiber bundle without fiber intermediate layers can be 10% to 30% for example. Thus for example when cellulose acetate hollow fibers are used in a dialyzer, its performance can sometimes be increased far above 20%, which is therefore far above the performance of all previously-known comparable dialyzers.
Since the manufacture of the hollow fiber bundle according to the invention involves a technically simple procedure, and in particular permits the processing of freshly spun hollow fibers in an on-line process, less expensive hollow fiber bundles can be provided by the invention as well.
The hollow fibers suitable for the hollow fiber bundle according to the invention, also frequently referred to as hollow threads, capillaries, tubules, thin-walled tubes, or the like, can have a porous, especially microporous, or nonporous wall; they are then referred to as porous, microporous, or nonporous hollow fibers. Hollow fibers whose walls are completely or partially permeable to materials, in other words are permeable or semipermeable, and which consequently are suitable for material exchange, material separation, or material transfer, are also frequently referred to as capillary membranes. Such hollow fibers are known. This is also true of the advantageous measurements of the internal and external diameter and the wall thickness of the hollow fibers, and also for suitable materials, of which the hollow fibers consist, such as polymers or cellulose materials. The outside diameter of the hollow fibers lies in the following ranges for example: for dialysis, from 150 .mu.m to 280 .mu.m; for oxygenation, from 150 .mu.m to 500 .mu.m; for plasmapheresis, from 150 .mu.m to 650 .mu.m. The hollow fibers suitable for the hollow fiber bundles according to the invention can be provided on the outer and/or inner surfaces and/or possibly in the pores of their walls for example with immobilized bioactive substances, cells, proteins, or the like. They can also have other adsorptive properties. Hollow fibers with a wall that is essentially impermeable to materials are frequently
REFERENCES:
patent: 3430057 (1969-02-01), Genahr
patent: 3557962 (1971-01-01), Kohl
patent: 4077578 (1978-03-01), Cromie et al.
patent: 4084758 (1978-04-01), Cromie
patent: 4185888 (1980-01-01), Quelle, Jr.
patent: 4346006 (1982-08-01), Kopp et al.
patent: 4430219 (1984-02-01), Kuzumoto et al.
patent: 4950391 (1990-08-01), Weickhardt
patent: 5126053 (1992-06-01), Schneider et al.
patent: 5129028 (1992-07-01), Soltan
Martin Manfred
Pasquali Renato
Riesop Peter
Akzo Nobel N.V.
Bovernick Rodney B.
Ngo John
LandOfFree
Hollow fiber bundle and a method and device for its manufacture does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Hollow fiber bundle and a method and device for its manufacture, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Hollow fiber bundle and a method and device for its manufacture will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-412457