Patents by Inventor Akihito IMASE

Akihito IMASE has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11008245
    Abstract: An optical fiber production method includes: drawing an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; and cooling the optical fiber. The optical fiber is passed through a plurality of annealing furnaces while the optical fiber is cooled. While the optical fiber is cooled, temperatures of the annealing furnaces are set such that the temperature difference is within a range between and including an upper limit and a lower limit of a temperature difference between a temperature of the optical fiber and a fictive temperature of glass constituting a core of the optical fiber at which an increase of a transmission loss of the optical fiber when the fictive temperature of the glass is decreased is less than 0.001 dB/km.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase
  • Patent number: 10710924
    Abstract: An optical fiber production method includes: drawing an optical fiber from an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; cooling the optical fiber in an annealing furnace; and delivering the optical fiber into the annealing furnace, and controlling a temperature difference between a temperature of the optical fiber and a fictive temperature of glass forming a core included in the optical fiber to be higher than 20° C. and lower than 100° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase
  • Publication number: 20200095158
    Abstract: An optical fiber production method includes: drawing an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; and cooling the optical fiber. The optical fiber is passed through a plurality of annealing furnaces while the optical fiber is cooled. While the optical fiber is cooled, temperatures of the annealing furnaces are set such that the temperature difference is within a range between and including an upper limit and a lower limit of a temperature difference between a temperature of the optical fiber and a fictive temperature of glass constituting a core of the optical fiber at which an increase of a transmission loss of the optical fiber when the fictive temperature of the glass is decreased is less than 0.001 dB/km.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase
  • Patent number: 10427969
    Abstract: An optical fiber manufacturing method includes: melting and drawing an optical fiber preform to form a glass fiber; cooling the glass fiber while inserting the glass fiber into a tubular slow-cooling device from an inlet end toward an outlet end thereof; and lowering an inner wall temperature of the slow-cooling device below a temperature of the glass fiber and providing a pressure gradient in which a pressure increases in a direction from the inlet end toward the outlet end inside the slow-cooling device when cooling the glass fiber, wherein the average pressure change dP/dL in a moving direction of the glass fiber inside the slow-cooling device satisfies the following Formula (1) when the tube inner diameter of the slow-cooling device is defined as D [m] and the length of an internal space of the slow-cooling device in the moving direction of the glass fiber is defined as L [m]. (?D2/4)×dP/dL?0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventor: Akihito Imase
  • Publication number: 20180290914
    Abstract: An optical fiber production method includes: drawing an optical fiber from an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; and cooling the optical fiber. The optical fiber is passed through a plurality of annealing furnaces while the optical fiber is cooled. Equation (1) is held in a given period during the cooling, where a time constant of relaxation of a structure of glass forming a core included in the optical fiber is defined as ?(T), a temperature of the optical fiber at a point in time during the cooling is defined as T, a fictive temperature of glass forming the core at the point in time is defined as Tf0, and a fictive temperature of glass forming the core after a lapse of time ?t from the point in time is defined as Tf. 20° C.<Tf?T=(Tf0?T)exp(??t/?(T))<100° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2016
    Publication date: October 11, 2018
    Applicant: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase
  • Publication number: 20180194666
    Abstract: An optical fiber production method includes: drawing an optical fiber from an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; cooling the optical fiber in an annealing furnace; and delivering the optical fiber into the annealing furnace, and controlling a temperature difference between a temperature of the optical fiber and a fictive temperature of glass forming a core included in the optical fiber to be higher than 20° C. and lower than 100° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2016
    Publication date: July 12, 2018
    Applicant: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase
  • Publication number: 20170217822
    Abstract: An optical fiber manufacturing method includes: melting and drawing an optical fiber preform to form a glass fiber; cooling the glass fiber while inserting the glass fiber into a tubular slow-cooling device from an inlet end toward an outlet end thereof, and lowering an inner wall temperature of the slow-cooling device below a temperature of the glass fiber and providing a pressure gradient in which a pressure increases in a direction from the inlet end toward the outlet end inside the slow-cooling device when cooling the glass fiber, wherein the average pressure change dP/dL in a moving direction of the glass fiber inside the slow-cooling device satisfies the following Formula (1) when the tube inner diameter of the slow-cooling device is defined as D [m] and the length of an internal space of the slow-cooling device in the moving direction of the glass fiber is defined as L [m]. (?D2/4)×dP/dL?0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2016
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Applicant: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Akihito IMASE
  • Patent number: 9395485
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a glass preform is provided. The method including, vaporizing an alkali metal compound or an alkali earth metal compound and being brought the alkali metal compound or the alkali earth metal compound into contact with a hydroxyl group on a surface of porous silica glass and dehydrating the porous silica glass, and sintering the dehydrated porous silica glass and forming a transparent glass body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase
  • Patent number: 9002164
    Abstract: An optical fiber is provided. The optical fiber has a refractive index profile that includes a central core, an inner cladding layer, a trench layer, and an outer cladding layer. A trench layer is provided with a reduced refractive index. The optical fiber has a large effective area without having an increase of a cutoff wavelength, and exhibits low macrobending loss.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Kitamura, Akihito Imase, Munehisa Fujimaki
  • Publication number: 20140241686
    Abstract: An optical fiber is provided. The optical fiber has a refractive index profile that includes a central core, an inner cladding layer, a trench layer, and an outer cladding layer. A trench layer is provided with a reduced refractive index. The optical fiber has a large effective area without having an increase of a cutoff wavelength, and exhibits low macrobending loss.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: FUJIKURA, LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki KITAMURA, Akihito IMASE, Munehisa FUJIMAKI
  • Publication number: 20130251322
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a glass preform is provided. The method including, vaporizing an alkali metal compound or an alkali earth metal compound and being brought the alkali metal compound or the alkali earth metal compound into contact with a hydroxyl group on a surface of porous silica glass and dehydrating the porous silica glass, and sintering the dehydrated porous silica glass and forming a transparent glass body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2013
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki KITAMURA, Akihito IMASE