Contactless Guide for Optical Fiber with Adjustable Gap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contactless guides for optical fiber manufacturing can cause the bare optical fiber to become disconnected and stuck in the guide, making maintenance difficult.
Innovation Solution
A contactless guide comprising an inner member with ejection ports for gas, and flanges that sandwich the inner member to create a gap for the optical fiber, allowing for adjustable gap width and gas pressure to facilitate easy maintenance and stable fiber direction change.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a contactless guide is used to change the direction of bare optical fiber, then the fiber can be guided without contact, but the fiber may become disconnected and stuck in the guide, making maintenance difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The contactless guide is divided into a body and a detachable cover. The cover can be separated from the body to provide access to the interior space where the fiber may become stuck, enabling easy maintenance and cleaning operations while maintaining the contactless guidance function during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed to be movable between a closed state (for normal operation) and an open state (for maintenance). This dynamic configuration allows the guide to transition between operational and maintenance modes, solving the contradiction between maintaining guidance functionality and enabling easy repair.
2Device complexity
If the gap width is fixed in the contactless guide, then the structure is simple, but the guide cannot adapt to different fiber conditions or maintenance requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The gap width between the body and cover is made adjustable rather than fixed. The cover can be positioned at different locations along the body, changing the gap width to adapt to different fiber diameters or maintenance requirements, while maintaining overall structural simplicity through the modular design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The guide allows for easy removal of stuck fibers and efficient cleaning, while adjustable gas pressure ensures stable fiber floating and direction change, improving maintenance and manufacturing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of ejection ports capable of ejecting a gas in an outer peripheral surface
Implementation Method 2
blow the gas ejected from the plurality of ejection ports against the bare optical fiber to float the bare optical fiber
Data Source
AI summary
A contactless guide includes an inner member having a plurality of ejection ports capable of ejecting a gas in an outer peripheral surface, and a first flange and a second flange housing the inner member so as to sandwich the inner member in a first direction intersecting with an ejection direction of the gas ejected from the plurality of ejection ports. At least one of the first flange and the second flange is attached to the inner member such that a gap through which the gas ejected from the plurality of ejection ports passes is provided between an outer edge portion of the first flange and an outer edge portion of the second flange. At least one of the first flange and the second flange is movable in a direction in which a width of the gap is changed.