Apparatus and method for applications of optical fiber coatings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10036108-B2
Application number	US-201414521900-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2014
Priority date	Nov 26, 2013
Publication date	Jul 31, 2018
Grant date	Jul 31, 2018

Abstract

One embodiment of the disclosure relates to a fiber coating apparatus having a fiber entrance opening, a conical section with walls tapered at half angles between 2 and 25° and height (also referred to as length herein) L 1 between 0.25 mm and 2 mm, and a cylindrical land portion of diameter d 2 between 0.1 and 0.5 mm and height (length) L 2 between 0.05 and 1.25 mm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fiber coating apparatus comprising:
a sizing die comprising
(a) fiber entrance opening:
(b) a first portion, situated directly adjacent to said fiber entrance, the first portion forming a conical ferrule with tapered wall, wherein the conical ferrule has a cross-section with inner walls angled at a half angle α and cone height L 1 , where
2°≤α≤25°, L 1 is between 0.25 mm and 2 mm; and

(c) a cylindrical portion having a substantially constant inner diameter d 2 and length L 2 , such that
0.1 mm≤d 2 ≤0.5 mm, and 0.5 d 2 ≤L 2 ≤2.5d 2 and L 1 ≤0.75 d 2 .

2. The fiber coating apparatus comprising according to claim 1 , wherein said coating apparatus does not include a wall with a convex cross-section situated between said fiber entrance opening and said conical ferrule with tapered wall.

3. The fiber coating apparatus comprising according to claim 1 , wherein said coating apparatus includes a wall with a convex cross-section situated between said fiber entrance opening and said conical ferrule with tapered wall, said wall with the convex cross-section having a height <1 mm.

4. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein 0.5 mm≤d 2 ≤2 mm.

5. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 1 , and further comprising a leg portion with a cylindrical inner wall, said leg portion situated adjacent to and down stream of said cylindrical portion, said cylindrical inner wall of said leg portion having an inner diameter d 3 between 0.5 mm and 5 mm and a length L 3 between 2 and 6 mm.

6. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein 0.5 mm≤L 1 ≤1.75 mm.

7. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein 0.5 mm≤L 1 ≤1.5 mm.

8. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein 4°≤α≤25°.

9. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein L 1 ≤0.5 d 2 .

10. The fiber coating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a leg portion with a cylindrical inner wall, said cylindrical inner wall of said leg portion having an inner diameter d 3 between 0.5 mm and 5 mm and a length L 3 between 2 and 6 mm.

11. A fiber coating apparatus comprising:
(I) a guide die;
(II) a first sizing die situated adjacent to the guide die, the first sizing die comprising
(a) fiber entrance opening;
(b) a first portion, situated below the fiber entrance opening, the first portion forming a conical ferrule with tapered wall, wherein the conical ferrule has a cross-section with inner walls angled at a half angle α and height L 1 , where 2°≤α 1 ≤25° and L 1 is between 0.25 mm and 2 mm;
(c) a cylindrical land portion situated adjacent to the first portion having a substantially constant inner diameter d 2 and length L 2 , such that 0.1 mm≤d 2 ≤0.5 mm and 0.5d 2 ≤L 2 ≤2.5d 2 and L 1 ≤0.75 d 2 ; and
(d) a cylindrical leg portion having an inner diameter greater than d 2 , the cylindrical leg portion being situated either above the first portion or below the cylindrical land portion; and

(III) a second sizing die situated adjacent to said first sizing die.

12. The fiber coating apparatus comprising according to claim 11 wherein said cylindrical leg portion of said first sizing die is positioned above said fiber entrance opening and adjacent to said first portion of said first sizing die, and 8°≤α 1 ≤25°.

13. The fiber coating apparatus comprising according to claim 12 wherein:
the second sizing die comprises: (a) fiber entrance opening; (b) a first portion, situated below the fiber entrance opening, the first portion forming a conical ferrule with tapered wall, wherein the conical ferrule has a cross-section with inner walls angled at a half angle α2 and height L 1 , where 2°≤α a2 ≤25° and L 1 is between 0.25 mm and 2 mm; (c) a cylindrical land portion situated adjacent to the first portion having substantially constant inner diameter d 2 and length L 2 , such that 0.1 mm≤d 2 ≤0.5 mm and 0.5d 2 ≤L 2 ≤2.5d 2 ; and (d) a cylindrical leg portion having an inner diameter greater than d 2 , the cylindrical leg portion being situated below the cylindrical land portion.

14. A method for coating an optical fiber, comprising:
(I) coating the optical fiber with a primary coating material by moving the optical fiber through the first sizing die of the coating apparatus of claim 11 , and
(II) applying a secondary coating by moving the optical fiber with the primary coating thereon through the second sizing die of the coating apparatus of claim 11 .

15. A fiber coating apparatus comprising:
(I) a guide die;
(II) a first sizing die situated adjacent to the guide die, the first sizing-die comprising:
(a) a fiber entrance opening;
(b) a first portion, situated below the fiber entrance opening, the first portion forming a conical ferrule with tapered wall, wherein the conical ferrule has a cross-section with inner walls angled at a half angle α 1 and height L 1 , where 5°≤α 1 <25° and L 1 is between 0.25 mm and 2 mm;
(c) a cylindrical land portion situated adjacent to the first portion having a substantially constant inner diameter d 2 and length L 2 , such that 0.1 mm≤d 2 ≤0.5 mm and 0.5d 2 ≤L 2 ≤2.5d 2 and L 1 ≤0.75 d 2 ; and
(d) a cylindrical leg portion having an inner diameter greater than d 2 , the cylindrical leg portion being situated either above the first portion or below the cylindrical land portion; and

(III) a second sizing die situated adjacent to said first sizing die.

16. The fiber coating apparatus comprising according to claim 15 wherein said cylindrical leg portion of said first sizing die is positioned above said fiber entrance opening and adjacent to said first portion of said first sizing die, and 8°≤α 1 ≤25°.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Moore Robert Clark
• Neilson Douglas Gregg

Classifications

• C03C25/104

  to obtain optical fibres · CPC title

• B05C11/021

  Apparatus for spreading or distributing liquids or other fluent materials already applied to the surface of an elongated body, e.g. a wire, a tube · CPC title

• C03C25/18 Primary

  Extrusion · CPC title

• G02B6/4402

  with one single optical waveguide (G02B6/4429, G02B6/4439, G02B6/4479 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02B6/036

  core or cladding comprising multiple layers {(multicore optical fibres G02B6/02042; microstructured properties G02B6/02295; omniguide fibres G02B6/023)} · CPC title