With Fiber Stretching, Drawing, Or Pulling (e.g., From Rod, Etc.) Patents (Class 65/435)
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Patent number: 12077466Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a reclaim cylinder includes: a single housing (60) coupled to a fiber draw furnace system, the housing defining a reclaim chamber 64, a plurality of gas reclaim ports (68) spaced equidistant from each other and tangentially coupled to the housing, a gas sampling port (52) tangentially or perpendicularly coupled to the housing, and a particle sampling port (54) tangentially or perpendicularly coupled to the housing.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2021Date of Patent: September 3, 2024Assignee: CORNING INCORPORATEDInventors: Guoqiang Chen, Zhi Ming Liu
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Patent number: 12065373Abstract: Provided is an elongating method for elongating a glass base material by heating the same while moving the same downward within an elongating apparatus, the glass base material including a transparent tapered section, wherein the transparent tapered section is located at an upper end of the glass base material and has an end face to which a suspension dummy formed from a glass pole is welded, the elongating method comprising steps for: starting to elongate the glass base material by heating the same, starting from a lower-end side thereof, by causing the glass base material to pass through a range within the elongating apparatus in which a preset elongating process temperature or higher is maintained; and after the tapered section enters the range, ending the elongating of the glass base material before the end face enters the range.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2022Date of Patent: August 20, 2024Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventor: Ryo Mitta
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Patent number: 12007630Abstract: A method of forming a color-changing fiber that can be incorporated into fabrics and other woven materials. The color changing fibers include an annular wall and a conductive wire axially extending through the annular wall, a core strand surrounded by the annular wall and extending axially through a central portion of the fiber, and an encapsulated electro-optic medium disposed on a surface of the core strand.Type: GrantFiled: March 22, 2023Date of Patent: June 11, 2024Assignee: E Ink CorporationInventors: Richard J. Paolini, Jr., Jay William Anseth
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Patent number: 11971571Abstract: An optical fiber according to an embodiment has a structure capable of reducing an increase in transmission loss. The optical fiber includes a glass part extending in a direction of a central axis, and the glass part is comprised of silica-based glass, includes a core and a cladding, and has residual stress approximately uniform throughout a cross section of the glass part orthogonal to the central axis, the core having the central axis and being doped with chlorine with a mass fraction of 1% or more, the cladding surrounding the core and having a refractive index lower than a maximum refractive index of the core.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2021Date of Patent: April 30, 2024Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Hirotaka Sakuma, Yuki Kawaguchi, Masato Suzuki
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Patent number: 11934049Abstract: A method of forming a color-changing fiber that can be incorporated into fabrics and other woven materials. The color changing fibers include an annular wall and a conductive wire axially extending through the annular wall, a core strand surrounded by the annular wall and extending axially through a central portion of the fiber, and an encapsulated electro-optic medium disposed on a surface of the core strand.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2022Date of Patent: March 19, 2024Assignee: E Ink CorporationInventors: Richard J. Paolini, Jr., Jay William Anseth
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Patent number: 11840473Abstract: A method of manufacturing an optical fiber, the method including drawing a bare optical fiber from an optical fiber preform along a draw pathway. The method further includes during the drawing step, moving a first fluid bearing from a first position to a second position, the first position being removed from the draw pathway and the second position being disposed in the draw pathway such that the movement of the first fluid bearing to the second position causes at least a first portion of the draw pathway to change direction.Type: GrantFiled: August 25, 2021Date of Patent: December 12, 2023Assignee: Corning IncorporatedInventors: Steven Joseph Gregorski, Kenneth Spencer Morgan, Richard Alan Quinn, Bradley Kent Shepard, John Christopher Thomas, David Andrew Tucker
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Patent number: 11834364Abstract: A non-contact direction changer includes: a guide groove that guides an optical fiber and changes a direction of advancement of the optical fiber from a first direction to a second direction; a bottom ejection opening at a bottom of the guide groove; and one or more side ejection openings on at least one of opposite side surfaces of the guide groove. A fluid is ejected into the guide groove through the bottom ejection opening. A fluid is ejected into the guide groove through the one or more side ejection openings.Type: GrantFiled: May 31, 2018Date of Patent: December 5, 2023Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.Inventor: Itaru Ishida
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Patent number: 11827555Abstract: An optical fiber forming apparatus comprises: a draw furnace comprising: (i) a muffle with an inner surface, (ii) an axial opening below the muffle, the inner surface of the muffle defining a passageway extending through the axial opening, and (iii) an upper inlet into the passageway; and a tube that extends into the passageway of the draw furnace above the axial opening, the tube having (i) an outer surface and the inner surface of the muffle surrounds the outer surface of the tube with a space separating the outer surface of the tube from the inner surface of the muffle, (ii) an inner surface that defines a second passageway extending through the tube, (iii) an inlet into the second passageway of the tube, (iii) an outlet out of the second passageway of the tube.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2021Date of Patent: November 28, 2023Assignee: CORNING INCORPORATEDInventors: Erling Richard Anderson, Tammy Michelle Hoffmann, Nikolaos Pantelis Kladias, Robert Clark Moore, Christopher Scott Thomas
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Patent number: 11795099Abstract: A furnace gas supply apparatus configured to supply gas into a drawing furnace, includes: a first flow channel introducing the gas from a predetermined first gas inlet to flow the gas from a predetermined first gas outlet toward a gas storage portion, and a second flow channel introducing the gas stored in the gas storage portion from a predetermined second gas inlet to flow the gas from a predetermined second gas outlet toward a furnace core tube of the drawing furnace, in which the gas storage portion is provided between the first gas outlet and the second gas inlet, and in which an opening position of the second gas inlet is provided at a position different from an opening position of the first gas outlet.Type: GrantFiled: March 22, 2019Date of Patent: October 24, 2023Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Satoshi Yoshikawa, Katsuyuki Tsuneishi
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Patent number: 11680007Abstract: Provided is an optical fiber glass preform in which a starting rod and a dummy glass are hardly separated from each other, and a method for manufacturing the glass preform. In the optical fiber glass preform, the dummy glass is fitted into one end of the starting rod, and a part of the dummy glass and the starting rod are surrounded by a clad glass. In the manufacturing method, at the time of connecting the starting rod and the dummy glass, a shape is adjusted in such a manner that an iron is brought into contact with a connection portion and is moved from a starting rod side toward a dummy glass side with appliance of a load.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2022Date of Patent: June 20, 2023Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventor: Ryo Mitta
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Patent number: 11649185Abstract: An automated large outside diameter preform tipping process. A zone of the preform is heated inside a furnace and softened. The preform tip is shaped and the process is controlled by the movement of the glass above and below the heating zone and by sensing the weight of the lower part of the preform, which in effect is a measure of the viscosity of the softened material. Once the correct viscosity is reached, the bottom holder is moved away from the top holder with a non-linear, accelerated velocity profile (derived from the FEM simulation of glass flow) which is precisely programmed and controlled so that the preform tip is optimally shaped (usually short and sharp tipped) with minimum waste and waveguide distortion when drawn into a fiber. The same concept of the non-linear, accelerated velocity profile can also be applied to other tipping processes such as horizontal preform tipping processes.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2020Date of Patent: May 16, 2023Assignee: HERAEUS QUARTZ NORTH AMERICA LLCInventors: Qiulin Ma, Kai Huei Chang
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Patent number: 11628601Abstract: One embodiment is an apparatus including a mold configured to manufacture a composite structure at a heated temperature. The mold includes a first mold tool configured to mold a first portion of the composite structure, wherein the first mold tool comprises a plurality of strands of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material, wherein the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material comprises a thermoplastic embedded with a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is aligned within each strand of the plurality of strands; and an anisotropic thermal expansion property, wherein the anisotropic thermal expansion property is based on an orientation of the plurality of reinforcement fibers within the first mold tool; and a second mold tool configured to mold a second portion of the composite structure.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2021Date of Patent: April 18, 2023Assignee: TEXTRON INNOVATIONS LLCInventor: David G. Carlson
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Patent number: 11577985Abstract: A system for processing an optical fiber includes: a draw furnace, the draw furnace containing an optical fiber preform; a bare optical fiber drawn from the optical fiber preform, the bare optical fiber extending from the draw furnace along a process pathway; and a slow cooling device operatively coupled to and downstream from the draw furnace, the slow cooling device exposing the bare optical fiber to a slow cooling device process temperature in the range form 1000° C. to 1400° C., wherein the bare optical fiber passes through the slow cooling device at least two times.Type: GrantFiled: February 12, 2021Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: CORNING INCORPORATEDInventors: Bruce Warren Reding, Pushkar Tandon
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Patent number: 11384005Abstract: A method for elongating a glass preform for an optical fiber is provided for producing a glass rod having a smaller diameter by elongating the glass preform having a large diameter, the method including: when the glass preform having a tapered transparent glass portion at one end of a straight body of the glass preform and a tapered portion including an opaque glass portion at another end is elongated, prior to the elongating, cutting a part of the tapered portion including the opaque glass portion, wherein a cut surface of the part is a lower end of the glass preform; and welding the cut surface of the tapered portion to a pulling dummy connected to a pulling mechanism in a elongating apparatus, wherein the cut surface is circular and has an outer diameter ranging from 135 mm to 160 mm.Type: GrantFiled: February 25, 2020Date of Patent: July 12, 2022Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventor: Ryo Mitta
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Patent number: 11312651Abstract: An optical fiber drawing method where a glass base material passes through an opening provided in a drawing furnace from the material side and drawing is performed by suspending and descending the material into the drawing furnace while being sealed by a sealing mechanism provided in the vicinity of the opening, in which a first portion of the sealing mechanism seals a gap between an outer peripheral surface of the material and an inner surface of the opening when drawing starts and a tapered portion of the material starts passing through the first portion, and a second portion is disposed above the first portion before sealing by the first portion becomes ineffective, and then conduction between inside and outside of the drawing furnace is carried out to prevent fluctuation of pressure inside the furnace immediately after disposing the second portion and the conduction is interrupted when the material further descends.Type: GrantFiled: September 4, 2017Date of Patent: April 26, 2022Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Satoshi Yoshikawa, Iwao Okazaki, Takashi Yamazaki
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Patent number: 11091385Abstract: A method for manufacturing an optical fiber includes: drawing an optical fiber from an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; and cooling the optical fiber in an annealing furnace. When the optical fiber enters the annealing furnace, a temperature difference between a temperature of the optical fiber and a fictive temperature of glass in a core of the optical fiber is 300° C. or less. The optical fiber is cooled for 0.01 seconds or more in the annealing furnace so that the temperature of the optical fiber becomes 1300° C. or more and 1800° C. or less.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2017Date of Patent: August 17, 2021Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.Inventor: Takayuki Kitamura
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Patent number: 10641945Abstract: An optical fiber manufacturing apparatus includes a heating furnace configured to heat and melt an optical fiber preform; a pulling mechanism configured to adjust an outer diameter of a glass optical fiber by drawing out the glass optical fiber from the optical fiber preform melted through the heating by the heating furnace, and to draw the glass optical fiber that has been adjusted in outer diameter; a coating mechanism configured to apply a predetermined resin on an outer circumference of the glass optical fiber that has been adjusted in outer diameter; and a transport mechanism configured to returnably retract the coating mechanism from a passage route of the glass optical fiber.Type: GrantFiled: September 19, 2019Date of Patent: May 5, 2020Assignee: FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.Inventor: Takashi Suzuki
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Patent number: 10611670Abstract: A sealing arrangement for a drawing furnace including a vertical center hole with surrounding heating elements for receiving a glass preform including a tapered portion connected to an extension rod. A sealing with an opening is arranged on top of the furnace. The arrangement includes an outer annular bushing arranged on top of the furnace and an inner annular bushing with a first and an opposing second vertical end. The inner bushing is positionable to surround at least part of the tapered portion with the first end positioned to the region of the beginning of the tapered portion and the second end includes protrusions on the outer surface. As the inner bushing is inserted in the outer bushing it is arranged to be movable within the outer bushing and the protrusions form supports for holding the second end of the inner bushing above the center hole.Type: GrantFiled: September 12, 2017Date of Patent: April 7, 2020Assignee: ROSENDAHL NEXTROM GMBHInventors: Olli Raki, Joonas Ilmarinen, Urmas Jöksi, Risto Widerholm, Esa Huttunen
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Patent number: 9567252Abstract: Capacity of space in a drawing furnace is decreased so as to reduce variations in pressure in the furnace and also the side of an insertion port of a glass perform is stably sealed. When drawing is started, an outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber glass preform 11 is sealed with a first seal part 17 of the seal mechanism. After a vicinity of a taper part of the optical fiber glass preform 11 starts to pass through the first seal part 17, switching to a second seal part 18 arranged above the first seal part 17 is performed, and an outer peripheral surface of a sleeve member 20 fixed so as to surround an outer periphery of the dummy rod 12 is sealed with the second seal part 18.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2014Date of Patent: February 14, 2017Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Iwao Okazaki, Takashi Yamazaki, Tatsuya Konishi, Katsuyuki Tsuneishi
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Patent number: 9036972Abstract: An easily producible optical fiber preform which is drawn to an optical fiber having a core containing a sufficient concentration of alkali metal is provided. An optical fiber preform 10 is composed of silica-based glass and includes a core portion 20 and a cladding portion 30. The core portion 20 includes a first core portion 21 including a central axis and a second core portion 22 disposed on the perimeter of the first core portion 21. The cladding portion 30 includes a first cladding portion 31 disposed on the perimeter of the second core portion 22 and a second cladding portion 32 disposed on the perimeter of the first cladding portion 31. The core portion 20 contains an alkali metal at an average concentration of 5 atomic ppm or more. The concentration of the OH group in the perimeter portion of the first cladding portion 31 is 200 mol ppm or more.Type: GrantFiled: November 16, 2012Date of Patent: May 19, 2015Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Yoshiaki Tamura, Tetsuya Haruna, Masaaki Hirano
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Publication number: 20150098682Abstract: An easily producible optical fiber preform which is drawn to an optical fiber having a core containing a sufficient concentration of alkali metal is provided. An optical fiber preform 10 is composed of silica-based glass and includes a core portion 20 and a cladding portion 30. The core portion 20 includes a first core portion 21 including a central axis and a second core portion 22 disposed on the perimeter of the first core portion 21. The cladding portion 30 includes a first cladding portion 31 disposed on the perimeter of the second core portion 22 and a second cladding portion 32 disposed on the perimeter of the first cladding portion 31. The core portion 20 contains an alkali metal at an average concentration of 5 atomic ppm or more. The concentration of the OH group in the perimeter portion of the first cladding portion 31 is 200 mol ppm or more.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 15, 2014Publication date: April 9, 2015Inventors: Yoshiaki TAMURA, Tetsuya HARUNA, Masaaki HIRANO
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Patent number: 8983258Abstract: A random array of holes is created in an optical fiber by gas generated during fiber drawing. The gas forms bubbles which are drawn into long, microscopic holes. The gas is created by a gas generating material such as silicon nitride. Silicon nitride oxidizes to produce nitrogen oxides when heated. The gas generating material can alternatively be silicon carbide or other nitrides or carbides. The random holes can provide cladding for optical confinement when located around a fiber core. The random holes can also be present in the fiber core. The fibers can be made of silica. The present random hole fibers are particularly useful as pressure sensors since they experience a large wavelength dependant increase in optical loss when pressure or force is applied.Type: GrantFiled: September 10, 2013Date of Patent: March 17, 2015Assignee: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.Inventors: Jeong I. Kim, Daniel Kominsky, Gary Pickrell, Ahmad Safaai-Jazi, Roger Stolen, Anbo Wang
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Patent number: 8973408Abstract: An optical fiber production system and method are provided for producing optical fiber. An optical fiber is drawn from a preform in a furnace and passes through a treatment device under a controlled reduced pressure or partial vacuum in the range of 0.01 to 0.8 atm. The treatment device cools the bare optical fiber as it cools to a temperature range of at least 1,600° C. to 1,300° C. A non-contact fiber centering device is located near an exit of the treatment device to provide linear centering of the optical fiber as it exits the treatment device.Type: GrantFiled: April 21, 2011Date of Patent: March 10, 2015Assignee: Corning IncorporatedInventors: Andrey V Filippov, Robert C Moore, Bruce Warren Reding, David Andrew Tucker
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Patent number: 8971684Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a preform 10P for a coupled multi-core fiber including: an arranging process P1 for arranging a plurality of core glass bodies 11R and a clad glass body 12R in such a way that the plurality of core glass bodies 11R are surrounded by the clad glass body 12R; and a collapsing process P2 for collapsing a gap between the core glass bodies 11R and the clad glass body 12R, wherein the respective core glass bodies 11R have outer regions 16 having a predetermined thickness from the periphery surfaces and made of silica glass undoped with germanium, and the clad glass body 12R is made of silica glass having a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the outer regions of the core glass bodies 11R.Type: GrantFiled: August 16, 2012Date of Patent: March 3, 2015Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.Inventors: Shoji Tanigawa, Katsuhiro Takenaga
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Publication number: 20150007616Abstract: To manufacture glass base material with high manufacturing yield, provided is a glass base material elongating method comprising forming a tapered portion where the outer diameter of the glass base material changes continuously, holding the glass base material with chucks, heating the glass base material held by chucks with a heat source, and with a portion of the glass base material softened, increasing the distance between the chucks to elongate the glass base material. The elongation begins from a state in which a position of the heat source at a position at which the outer diameter of the glass base material is set in a range from no less than 95% to no more than 98% of an average outer diameter of the trunk portion of the glass base material.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 1, 2014Publication date: January 8, 2015Inventor: Hideki FUJII
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Patent number: 8904825Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for fabricating a glass rod from a glass preform capable of suppressing a diameter fluctuation of the drawn glass rod even when there is a relatively large diameter reduction ratio between the glass preform and the glass rod, such as 60 to 95%. The feed speed V1 of the glass preform is set to a constant value, the diameter D of the glass preform is acquired for determining the drawing speed V2 from diameter data of the glass preform measured before being drawn at a diameter acquisition position defined with respect to a reference position of the furnace. The distance from the reference position to the diameter acquisition position is defined so as to vary depending on a diameter fluctuation of the glass preform before being drawn in a longitudinal direction thereof.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2011Date of Patent: December 9, 2014Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., LtdInventor: Tetsuya Otosaka
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Patent number: 8881552Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for fabricating a glass rod from a glass preform capable of suppressing a diameter fluctuation of the drawn glass rod even when there is a relatively large diameter reduction ratio between the glass preform and the glass rod, such as 60 to 95%. The diameter (D) of the glass preform for determining the ratio from a measured diameter data is acquired from measured diameter data of the glass preform, the measured diameter data is obtained by measuring the diameter of the glass preform along the longitudinal length of the preform before drawing the glass preform, and the feed speed (V1) is determined so that the feed speed (V1) varies depending on fluctuations of the measured diameter data in the longitudinal direction.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2011Date of Patent: November 11, 2014Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventor: Tetsuya Otosaka
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Publication number: 20140328565Abstract: The present invention relates to a multimode optical fiber which can provide a smooth cut face suitable for fusion splicing between fibers. The multimode optical fiber has at least a core extending along a central axis and having an ?-power refractive index profile, and a cladding, and a residual stress distribution in the core along a radial direction from the central axis has a shape with a maximum at a position intersecting with the central axis.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2013Publication date: November 6, 2014Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventor: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
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Publication number: 20140301706Abstract: Disclosed is an optical fiber formed from a preform that includes a clad component and a core component. The core component includes one or more precursor core materials. The precursor core materials and the clad materials are selected such that that the photoelastic constants of at least one precursor core material and the clad material are of opposite sign resulting in a final glass optical fiber of tailored Brillouin performance. The clad material may include an oxide glass having a positive photoelastic constant and the core component may include a precursor core material that has a negative photoelastic constant. During formation, the precursor core material can melt and interact with clad material that precipitates into the core to form a glass of at least one tailored Brillouin property, such as very low Brillouin gain.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 4, 2014Publication date: October 9, 2014Applicant: Clemson UniversityInventors: John Ballato, Peter D. Dragic
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Publication number: 20140254997Abstract: An easily producible optical fiber preform which is drawn to an optical fiber having a core containing a sufficient concentration of alkali metal is provided. An optical fiber preform 10 is composed of silica-based glass and includes a core portion 20 and a cladding portion 30. The core portion 20 includes a first core portion 21 including a central axis and a second core portion 22 disposed on the perimeter of the first core portion 21. The cladding portion 30 includes a first cladding portion 31 disposed on the perimeter of the second core portion 22 and a second cladding portion 32 disposed on the perimeter of the first cladding portion 31. The core portion 20 contains an alkali metal at an average concentration of 5 atomic ppm or more. The concentration of the OH group in the perimeter portion of the first cladding portion 31 is 200 mol ppm or more.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 16, 2012Publication date: September 11, 2014Inventors: Yoshiaki Tamura, Tetsuya Haruna, Masaaki Hirano
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Publication number: 20140226948Abstract: An apparatus includes a susceptor and a protective pipe. A gas containing 50% or more of argon or nitrogen is used as a gas to be supplied into the susceptor. The protective pipe has a heat insulating region (17a) enclosed with a heat insulator (18) with a length of Db (mm) at the upper section thereof and a non-heat insulating region (17b) not enclosed with any heat insulators at the lower section thereof. The temperature of the glass fiber at the outlet of the protective pipe becomes 1700° C. or less. The outer diameter of the glass fiber at the outlet of the protective pipe is within a range of the target outer diameter of the glass fiber+6 ?m or less.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 9, 2013Publication date: August 14, 2014Inventors: Tadashi Enomoto, Iwao Okazaki, Takashi Yamazaki, Masatoshi Hayakawa, Manabu Shiozaki, Norihiro Uenoyama, Masaru Furusyou
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Patent number: 8800324Abstract: A method for producing a glass fiber, through longitudinally drawing a preform in a drawing kiln, wherein cooling the glass fiber is performed in at least three time periods, wherein the glass fiber is exposed to a first time based cooling rate above a crystallization temperature range, to a second time based cooling rate that is greater than the first time based cooling rate within the crystallization temperature range, and to a third time based cooling rate which is smaller than the second time based cooling rate below the crystallization temperature range.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 2010Date of Patent: August 12, 2014Assignee: J-Fiber GmbHInventors: Wolfgang Hämmerle, Lothar Brehm, Matthias Auth
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Publication number: 20140137604Abstract: An optical fiber having excellent strength that can be manufactured at low cost, as well as a method for making such optical fiber, is provided. An optical fiber 1 is a silica-based optical fiber comprising a core 11, an optical cladding 12 surrounding the core & 11, and a jacketing region 13 surrounding the optical cladding 12 and having a uniform composition throughout from the internal circumference to the outer circumference. A compressive strained layer having a residual compressive stress is provided at the outermost circumference of the jacketing region 13.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 24, 2014Publication date: May 22, 2014Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Tetsuya NAKANISHI, Masaaki HIRANO, Tetsuya HARUNA, Maki IKECHI
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Patent number: 8701445Abstract: An optical fiber manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber by drawing a optical fiber preform, including: a drawing furnace having therein a muffle tube into which the optical fiber preform is inserted and heating the optical fiber preform; and a first seal member which is disposed at an insert side of the drawing furnace so as to be coaxial with the drawing furnace and which seals the optical fiber preform inserted into an opening formed at the center thereof, wherein the first seal member includes a plurality of inner-circumference slits formed in the inner circumference thereof and a plurality of outer-circumference slits formed in the outer circumference thereof.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 2009Date of Patent: April 22, 2014Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.Inventor: Tomohiro Nunome
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Patent number: 8695379Abstract: Apparatus for applying traction to an elongate cylindrical element produced by fusion of an end portion of a preform of glass material, in which a traction device is capable of being connected to a portion of the elongate cylindrical element to provide traction of the elongate cylindrical element along an axis. A device for the rotation of the elongate cylindrical element applies a twist to the elongate cylindrical element about the axis simultaneously with the traction.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2000Date of Patent: April 15, 2014Assignee: Prysmian Cavi E Sistemi Energia S.R.L.Inventors: Marco Antonio Caiata, Franco Cocchini, Giuseppe Ferri, Andrea Mazzotti, Alessandro Rossi, Antonio Schiaffo
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Patent number: 8661857Abstract: Provided is a method of manufacturing an optical fiber preform, comprising obtaining a base material ingot by sintering a porous glass base material at a high temperature to change the porous glass base material into glass while retaining an unsintered portion at one end thereof that is not completely changed to glass; and while relatively moving a heating means in a longitudinal direction of the base material ingot, applying a tensile force to a heated portion and beginning to extend the unsintered portion from one side to decrease a diameter of and extend the base material ingot.Type: GrantFiled: March 3, 2011Date of Patent: March 4, 2014Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventor: Yoshiaki Shimizu
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Patent number: 8661856Abstract: In an optical fiber manufacturing method, the cooling device and the coating device are connected in an airtight manner and by preventing a cooling gas, flowing inside the cooling device, from flowing into the coating device by a meniscus of resin inside of the coating device, a flow of the cooling gas inside the cooling device is discharged to an outside of an upper end of the cooling device as an upward stream; helium gas as the cooling gas flows into a lower portion of the cooling device and carbon dioxide gas as the cooling gas which is separated from the helium gas flows into a side lower than a position where the helium gas flows in, during the forcible cooling; and a flow rate of the helium gas and a flow rate of the carbon dioxide gas are individually controlled.Type: GrantFiled: June 15, 2011Date of Patent: March 4, 2014Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.Inventor: Kenji Okada
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Patent number: 8640502Abstract: A method of processing an optical fiber includes introducing fiber that has passed a pulling mechanism to a shredding unit with an introducing unit. The introducing unit includes a movable unit including a notch configured to fit with a capstan roller included in the pulling mechanism, a sliding mechanism that attaches the movable unit slidably with respect to a main body of the introducing unit, and a restoring mechanism configured to restore the movable unit to an initial position when the movable unit has slid. The method includes shredding the fiber introduced by the introducing unit into fiber pieces, and suctioning, carrying, and collecting the fiber pieces. A method of drawing an optical fiber includes drawing the fiber while controlling a drawing speed, adjusting a diameter of the fiber to a diameter passable through a die, and arranging the die around the fiber having the diameter passable through the die.Type: GrantFiled: December 7, 2012Date of Patent: February 4, 2014Assignee: Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yuta Aoki, Katsuhiko Watanabe, Kiyoshi Arima, Hirokazu Sato, Yoshiharu Taga, Takashi Suzuki
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Publication number: 20140020430Abstract: Provided is a glass base material elongation method for elongating a glass base material with a large diameter to manufacture a glass rod with a smaller diameter, the method comprising, when elongating a glass base material that has a transparent glass tapered portion at one end of a trunk portion and a glass tapered portion including a non-transparent glass portion at the other end of the trunk portion, prior to the elongation, fusing a hanging dummy to an end of the transparent glass tapered portion, setting the hanging dummy in communication with a feeding mechanism, inserting the glass base material into a heating furnace beginning with the other end, and performing elongation.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 20, 2013Publication date: January 23, 2014Inventor: Tetsuya OTOSAKA
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Patent number: 8620125Abstract: Light diffusing optical fibers and methods for producing light diffusing optical fibers are disclosed. In one embodiment, a light diffusing optical fiber includes a core portion formed from silica glass and comprising a plurality of helical void randomly distributed in the core portion of the optical fiber and wrapped around the long axis of the optical fiber. A pitch of the helical voids may vary along the axial length of the light diffusing optical fiber in order to achieve the desired illumination along the length of the optical fiber. A cladding may surround the core portion. Light guided by the core portion is scattered by the helical voids radially outward, through the cladding, such that the light diffusing optical fiber emits light with a predetermined intensity over an axial length of the light diffusing optical fiber, the light diffusing optical fiber having a scattering induced attenuation loss greater than about 0.2 dB/m at a wavelength of 550 nm.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2011Date of Patent: December 31, 2013Assignee: Corning IncorporatedInventors: Leslie James Button, Andrey Kobyakov, Sergey Anatolyevuch Kuchinsky, Stephan Lvovich Logunov, Aramais Zakharian
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Publication number: 20130327097Abstract: A manufacturing method that enables stably making a high-quality optical fiber is provided. The manufacturing method of the present invention comprises: a softened portion falling step in which an optical fiber preform is heated in a heating furnace and a dropping part of softened portion of the preform thus heat-softened is allowed to drop; and a drawing step for drawing the preform such that the softened glass is drawn into a fiber by applying a tension with a take-up means after the softened portion falling step, whereas the preform is rotated about its axis at the softened portion falling step.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2013Publication date: December 12, 2013Inventors: Yuji ABE, Ryutaro MIYAZAKI
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Publication number: 20130291601Abstract: A glass base material elongating method of sequentially feeding rod-like glass base materials hung by a glass base material feeding mechanism into a heating furnace, and pulling a glass rod with a smaller diameter by a pulling chuck at a lower part of the heating furnace, includes: aligning, by an alignment guiding device that guides the glass rod, a guiding center of the alignment guiding device with an axis of the glass rod, the alignment guiding device guiding the glass rod between the heating furnace and the pulling chuck.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 25, 2013Publication date: November 7, 2013Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventor: Tetsuya OTOSAKA
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Publication number: 20130291603Abstract: An optical fiber preform, and method for fabricating, having a first core, a second core spaced from the first core and first and second regions, the first region having an outer perimeter having a first substantially straight length and the second region having an outer perimeter having a second substantially straight length facing the first straight length. One of the regions can comprise the first core and the other comprises the second core. The preform can be drawn with rotation to provide a fiber wherein a first core of the fiber is multimode at a selected wavelength of operation and a second core of the fiber is spaced from and winds around the first core and has a selected longitudinal pitch. The second core of the fiber can couple to a higher order mode of the first core and increase the attenuation thereof relative to the fundamental mode of the first core.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 3, 2013Publication date: November 7, 2013Inventors: Douglas Guertin, Nils Jacobson, Kanishka Tankala, Adrian Carter
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Patent number: 8573008Abstract: An optical fiber production system and method are provided for producing optical fiber. An optical fiber is drawn from a preform in a furnace and passes through a treatment device under a reduced pressure in the range of 0.01 to 0.80 atm. The treatment device cools the bare optical fiber as it cools to a temperature in the range of at least 1,600° C. to 1,300° C. A non-contact fiber centering device is located near an exit of the treatment device to provide centering of the optical fiber as it exits the treatment device.Type: GrantFiled: April 21, 2011Date of Patent: November 5, 2013Assignee: Corning IncorporatedInventors: James Henry Faler, Andrey V Filippov, Robert C Moore, Bruce Warren Reding
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Publication number: 20130255323Abstract: Provided is a method for manufacturing an optical fiber. The method includes the steps of: heating and melting a silica-based optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace; drawing the melted preform into a linear shape from the drawing furnace, continuously cooling and solidifying the preform to form a bare optical fiber; coating the bare optical fiber with a resin to form an optical fiber; and continuously taking up the optical fiber while applying a tensile force, wherein, when a surface temperature of the cooled and solidified bare optical fiber reached down to 100° C. or lower, a surface of the bare optical fiber is reheated while applying a tensile force so as to remelt only a surface layer of the bare optical fiber, and the surface layer of the bare optical fiber is re-solidified, the bare optical fiber is coated with a resin, and the tensile force is released afterward.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 28, 2013Publication date: October 3, 2013Applicant: FUJIKURA LTD.Inventor: Shingo MATSUSHITA
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Patent number: 8544299Abstract: To improve a known method for making a quartz glass tube as a semifinished product for the manufacture of optical fibers, the tube comprising an inner fluorine-doped quartz glass layer and an outer quartz glass layer, so as to achieve inexpensive manufacture and improved dimensional stability of the quartz glass tube, it is suggested according to the invention that the quartz glass of the inner layer should be produced in a first plasma deposition process with formation of an inner layer having a wall thickness of at least 1.5 mm, with a fluorine content of at least 1.5% by wt. being set in the quartz glass, and that the quartz glass of the outer layer should be produced in a second plasma deposition process and deposited directly or indirectly on the inner layer with formation of a composite tube, and that the composite tube should be elongated into the quartz glass tube.Type: GrantFiled: January 15, 2008Date of Patent: October 1, 2013Assignee: Heraeus Quarzglas GmbH & Co. KGInventors: Gerhard Schoetz, Karsten Braeuer, Jan Vydra
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Patent number: 8528368Abstract: Methods for producing a coated optical fiber may include drawing an optical fiber from a draw furnace along a first pathway and redirecting the optical fiber along a second, different pathway which is non-parallel with the first pathway. The optical fiber may be coated as it travels along the second pathway.Type: GrantFiled: November 10, 2008Date of Patent: September 10, 2013Assignee: Corning IncorporatedInventors: James Henry Faler, Andrey V. Filippov, Bruce Warren Reding, Bradley Kent Shepard, David Andrew Tucker
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Publication number: 20130186148Abstract: Provided is a glass base material elongating method of using a glass base material elongation apparatus including a heating furnace, a feeding mechanism, and a pulling mechanism to elongate the rod-shaped glass base material to form a thinner glass rod, the method comprising gripping a pulling dummy rod connected to a bottom end of the glass base material with first pulling rollers of the pulling mechanism and, together with the feeding mechanism, feeding the glass base material to the heating furnace; and before a pulling force necessary for pulling the pulling dummy rod to elongate the glass base material reaches a load force that causes slipping between the pulling dummy rod and the first pulling rollers, gripping and pulling the pulling dummy rod with second pulling rollers of the pulling mechanism in addition to the first pulling rollers.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 17, 2013Publication date: July 25, 2013Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventor: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
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Patent number: 8474287Abstract: Microstructured optical fiber for single-moded transmission of optical signals, the optical fiber including a core region and a cladding region, the cladding region including an annular void-containing region that contains non-periodically disposed voids. The optical fiber provides single mode transmission and low bend loss.Type: GrantFiled: April 5, 2012Date of Patent: July 2, 2013Assignee: Corning IncorporatedInventors: Scott Robertson Bickham, Dana Craig Bookbinder, Ming-Jun Li, Pushkar Tandon
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Patent number: 8464557Abstract: A method of producing an optical fiber preform includes preparing a glass preform that has a hole extending in a longitudinal direction formed on one end of the glass preform in such a manner that a length of the hole is equal to or less than half of an entire length of the glass preform, synthesizing a porous glass preform by depositing glass particles on an outer circumference of the glass preform having the hole formed on the end, and sintering the porous glass preform after arranging the porous glass preform in such a manner that the end having the hole formed thereon points downward and the hole is open to the air.Type: GrantFiled: October 24, 2011Date of Patent: June 18, 2013Assignee: Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.Inventors: Taeko Shibuta, Tadashi Takahashi, Takeshi Yagi