Glass manufacturing – Processes of manufacturing fibers – filaments – or preforms – Process of manufacturing optical fibers – waveguides – or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-21
2001-04-03
Silverman, Stanley S. (Department: 1731)
Glass manufacturing
Processes of manufacturing fibers, filaments, or preforms
Process of manufacturing optical fibers, waveguides, or...
C065S435000, C065S385000, C065S384000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209358
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a method of this type, the first preform is heated by the fiber-drawing oven for a certain length of time so as to be raised to a temperature which is sufficient for drawing a fiber. The time required for raising the temperature of the second preform after the first preform has been removed constitutes dead time between drawing fiber from one of the preforms and then from the other, and that puts a limit on the optical fiber production capacity of the method.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to increase the fiber-drawing capacity of a method of the kind described above.
The invention is based on the idea of preheating the second preform while drawing fiber from the first.
To this end, the invention provides a method of drawing an optical fiber in which a first preform is lowered along a fiber-drawing axis through a fiber-drawing oven so as to be heated and drawn down into an optical fiber, and a second preform is lowered along the fiber-drawing axis through the fiber-drawing oven so as to be heated and drawn down in turn after the first preform has been withdrawn, wherein, while the first preform is being drawn down into a fiber, the second preform is heated in a preheating oven disposed adjacent to the fiber-drawing oven.
The preheating oven makes it possible to raise the second preform to a temperature that is slightly lower than its fiber-drawing temperature, with said preheating being performed while fiber is being drawn from the first preform. The preheating oven is located adjacent to the fiber-drawing oven so that the preheated second preform can be transferred quickly onto the fiber-drawing axis after the first preform has been removed.
In this manner, the time required for raising the preheated second preform to the fiber-drawing temperature is considerably reduced, thereby increasing the production capacity of a method of the invention compared with a known method of the kind described above.
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Francois Jean-Philippe
Hertz Michel
Wurier Bernard
Alcatel
Halpern Mark
Silverman Stanley S.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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