Method for manufacturing optical fiber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022185721-A1
Application number	US-202017602429-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 7, 2020
Priority date	Jul 31, 2019
Publication date	Jun 16, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method for manufacturing an optical fiber includes: gripping a preform by a gripper that includes an aligner; forming a bare fiber by melting the preform in a melting furnace; cooling the bare fiber by blowing gas in a cooler; applying a resin and coating an outer circumference of the bare fiber; curing the resin; acquiring input information that changes a flow rate of the gas blown to the bare fiber in the cooler; and adjusting based on the input information an entry position of the bare fiber into the cooler by controlling the aligner and moving the preform.

First claim

1 . A method for manufacturing an optical fiber, comprising:
gripping a preform by a gripper that comprises an aligner; forming a bare fiber by melting the preform in a melting furnace; cooling the bare fiber by blowing gas in a cooler; applying resin to an outer circumference of the bare fiber; curing the resin; acquiring input information that changes a flow rate of the gas blown to the bare fiber in the cooler; and adjusting, based on the input information, an entry position of the bare fiber into the cooler by controlling the aligner and moving the preform.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cooler is a non-contact direction changer.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the input information is an outer diameter of the bare fiber measured by a fiber diameter measure disposed between the melting furnace and the cooler.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the input information is presence or absence of a bubble in the bare fiber detected by a bubble detector disposed between the melting furnace and the cooler.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the input information is tension of the bare fiber measured by a tension measure disposed between the melting furnace and the cooler.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the input information is a position of the bare fiber with respect to the cooler detected by a position detector disposed between the melting furnace and the cooler.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the input information is a position of the preform measured by a preform position measure disposed on an upstream side of the melting furnace.

Assignees

• Fujikura Ltd

Inventors

• Ishida Itaru

Classifications

• C03B37/02718

  Thermal treatment of the fibre during the drawing process, e.g. cooling (coating C03C25/10) · CPC title

• C03B37/032

  for glass optical fibres · CPC title

• C03B37/0253 Primary

  Controlling or regulating (for glass fibre manufacture in general C03B37/07) · CPC title

• C03B37/027

  Fibres composed of different sorts of glass, {e.g. glass optical fibres}(C03B37/0253, C03B37/028 take precedence) · CPC title

• C03C25/1025

  to obtain fibres used for reinforcing cement-based products · CPC title