Coating processes – Optical element produced – Polarizer – windshield – optical fiber – projection screen – or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-23
2001-12-25
Aftergut, Jeff H. (Department: 1733)
Coating processes
Optical element produced
Polarizer, windshield, optical fiber, projection screen, or...
C118S419000, C118S420000, C118S642000, C156S166000, C156S180000, C385S114000, C425S114000, C427S434200, C427S434600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06333071
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved methods for manufacturing optical fiber ribbons that are produced by arranging optical fibers side by side in the same plane and coating them with a coating resin integrally, as well as a separable optical fiber ribbon that is produced by arranging the optical fiber ribbons side by side in the same plane and coating them integrally with a coating resin.
The present invention particularly relates to an alignment guide having a special structure that is adapted to produce optical fiber ribbons and a separable optical fiber ribbon thereof by a stable and uniform coating operation. The present invention also relates to an improved apparatus and method for producing optical fiber ribbons and a separable optical fiber ribbon thereof using the alignment guide.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 6A and 6B
are schematic views of a conventional art mechanism for aligning optical fibers in producing an optical fiber ribbon.
FIGS. 7A and 7B
are schematic views of another conventional art mechanism for aligning optical fibers in producing an optical fiber ribbon.
In
FIGS. 6A
to
7
B, numeral
40
represents an optical fiber;
41
, an optical fiber supply unit;
42
, a coating applicator;
43
, an optical fiber;
44
, an optical fiber gathering device;
45
, optical fiber gathering rollers;
46
, a groove;
47
, an alignment guide roller;
48
, a concave;
49
, a supply bobbin;
50
, a curing device and
51
, a turn roller.
As shown in
FIGS. 6A and 6B
, Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application (kokai) No. Hei. 10-142464 discloses that a plurality of optical fibers
43
are passed through the optical fiber gathering device
44
consisting of optical fiber gathering rollers
45
each having a groove
46
in the rim. As a result, the individual optical fibers are spaced apart in a plane without problems such as irregularities in optical fiber arrangement and damage to optical fibers.
In this case, because of the existence of the coating applicator
42
, the distance between the optical fiber gathering device
44
composed of rollers
45
with the grooves
46
spaced apart and the turn roller
51
cannot generally be made short enough to ensure suppression of vibrations of optical fibers, which tends to cause “planer eccentricity” as defined later.
As shown in
FIGS. 7A and 7B
, Examined Published Japanese Patent Application (kokoku) No. 8-33507 discloses that an optical fiber aligning apparatus is adapted to have a vertical pass line and optical fibers
40
are aligned with a plurality of alignment guide rollers
47
each having the concave
48
in the rim. In the case shown in
FIG. 7A
, three of such alignment guide rollers are provided at different positions in contact with optical fibers.
The apparatus has a disadvantage that each alignment guide roller
47
tends to costrain all optical fibers laterally toward the center thereof, thereby causing the optical fibers to contact each other.
If adjacent optical fibers contact each other before they enter the coating applicator
42
, mutual friction develops to increase the chance of the occurrence of vibrations. If the individual optical fibers
40
are not sufficiently wound onto the alignment guide rollers
47
but are placed in partial contact with them, one of the optical fibers before they are integrated into a fiber ribbon is likely to be subjected to a great torque causing the alignment guide rollers
47
to rotate. As a result, the tension on that particular optical fiber
40
increases under reaction force but the force is not stable, therefore the optical fiber is likely to vibrate.
The upset in the balance among the tensions on the individual optical fibers
40
also causes differences in length between the optical fibers
43
and otherwise deteriorates their characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors made intensive studies in order to solve the aforementioned problems of the conventional arts and came up with providing an alignment guide of a special structure in a pass line upstream of a coating applicator. It has been found that even if self-centering force to which optical fibers or optical fiber ribbons are subjected as they pass through a die decrease, the alignment guide helps suppress the optical fibers from vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the direction of their arrangement as they travel from the optical fiber gathering device toward the turn roller so that the optical fibers or optical fiber ribbons can be arranged uniformly in a plane. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of this finding.
An apparatus for producing an optical fiber ribbon or a separable optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention has an optical fiber gathering device, one or more coating applicators and a turn roller, all of which are arranged in a straight line, and further has at least one alignment guide in plate form provided upstream of each coating applicator, the alignment guide being chamfered to arch form on the side that contacts optical fibers or optical fiber ribbons and the alignment guide suppressing the optical fibers or the optical fiber ribbons from vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the direction of their arrangement.
In the apparatus, the alignment guide in plate form preferably has a diamond film coated on the surface area that contacts the optical fibers or the optical fiber ribbons.
In the apparatus, a mechanism is preferably further provided for retracting the alignment guide in plate form such that the alignment guide can come out of the travelling line of the optical fibers or the optical fiber ribbons.
The present invention provides a method of producing optical fiber ribbons by means of any of the apparatus described above, with the alignment guide in plate form being used to suppress the vibrations occurring in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the optical fibers are arranged.
In the method, the alignment guide in plate form is situated on the pass line during operation at a low line-speed but retracted from the pass line in a high-speed operation.
In the method, the alignment guide is preferably situated on the pass line when the line-speed is less than 2 m/sec.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3148102 (1964-09-01), Eakins et al.
patent: 63-161418-A (1988-07-01), None
patent: 6-250057-A (1994-09-01), None
patent: 10-142464-A (1998-05-01), None
Hattori Tomoyuki
Kobayashi Kohei
Tsuchiya Ichiro
Aftergut Jeff H.
McDermott & Will & Emery
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.
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