Apparatus for making fiber optical components

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIBER OPTICAL IMAGE TRANSFER DEVICES AND THE LIKE, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING FIRST HEATING MEANS HAVING A BORE THERETHROUGH ARRANGED TO RECEIVE ONE END OF A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY THIN ELONGATED GLASS MEMBERS OF SIMILAR CROSS-SECTIONAL SIZE AND SHAPE WHILE BEING HELD TOGETHER IN A PREDETERMINED SIDE-BY-SIDE BUNCHED FORMATION AND MOVED SLOWLY ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH OF TRAVEL THROUGH SAID APPARATUS, SAID FIRST HEATING MEANS INCLUDING ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENTS FOR MAINTAINING SAID BORE AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE FOR PREHEATING THE BUNCHED FORMATION THEREIN BEFORE REACHING A FUSING ZONE IN SAID APPARATUS, MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING SAID FUSING ZONE IN ALIGNED ADJACENT RELATION TO SAID BORE, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING OPPOSED POWER-OPERATED PRESSURE ROLLERS FOR ENGAGING AND LIGHTLY PRESSING SAID BUNCHED FORMATION OF ELONGATED GLASS MEMBERS IN SAID FUSING ZONE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER AND FOR SLOWLY MOVING SAID BUNCHED FORMATION THROUGH SAID HEATING ZONE, SUPPORT BLOCKS ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID POWER-OPERATED PRESSURE ROLLERS AND ARRANGED TO BE MOVED INWARDLY TOWARD EACH OTHER AND SAID BUNCHED FORMATION IN SAID FUSING ZONE, AND ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID BLOCKS FOR MAINTAINING A FUSING TEMPERATURE IN SAID FUSING ZONE SO AS TO CAUSE SAID GLASS MEMBERS TO FUSE WITH ONE ANOTHER AT ENGAGING SIDE WALL SURFACES THEREOF BUT WITHOUT APPRECIABLE CHANGE IN THE CROSS-SECTIONAL GEOMETRIC ARRANGEMENT OF SAID MEMBERS MEANS PROVIDING A WORKING ZONE DISPOSED IN ALIGNED ADJACENT RELATION TO SAID FUSING ZONE AND INCLUDING ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENTS FOR MAINTAINING A HIGHER TEMPERATURE IN SAID WORKING ZONE THAN IN SAID FUSING ZONE SO THAT SAID FUSED-TOGETHER BUNCHED FORMATION MAY BE DRAWN OUT INTO A MULTIFIBERED STRAND OF APPRECIABLY REDUCED CROSS-SECTIONAL SIZE, AND OPPOSED POWER-OPERATED DRAWING ROLLERS DISPOSED IN ALIGNED RELATION WITH SAID BUNCHED FORMATION AND AT A LOCATION NEAR THE EXIT END OF SAID WORKING ZONE AND ARRANGED TO GRIP AND PULL SAID MULTIFIBERED STRAND AT A GREATER RATE OF SPEED THAN THAT PROVIDED SAID BUNCHED FORMATION BY SAID OPPOSED POWER-OPERATED PRESSURE ROLLERS.