Coated Optical Fiber Coating Removal via Tensioned Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing blade-using method for removing the coat from optical fibers is prone to damaging the fiber due to vibrations and parallelism errors, especially when the coat is thin and hard, requiring precise control of the blade's biting action.
Innovation Solution
A method involving holding the optical fiber with tensioned holders and using a coat removal blade that is pressed in a direction crossing the fiber's length, bending it, and moving along its length to remove the coat, allowing for adjustable tension and blade force without precise edge control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the coated optical fiber is placed on a flat base or table for coat removal, then the fiber is supported during the process, but the edge of the removal blade strongly hits the optical fiber due to vibration or parallelism error, deteriorating the strength of the optical fiber
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blade support that acts as an intermediary between the table and the removal blade. This support provides a stable reference surface for the blade edge, eliminating vibrations and parallelism errors that cause the blade to strongly hit the optical fiber. The blade support includes a support surface parallel to the table surface, creating a stable geometric relationship that prevents harmful impacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical system of directly placing the blade on the table with a more sophisticated mechanical structure involving the blade support. This substitution introduces additional components (blade support, support surface) that mechanically stabilize the blade position and eliminate harmful vibrations through proper structural design.
2Ease of manufacture
If the optical fiber is held between the blade edge and the table for coat removal, then the coat can be bitten and removed, but the movement of the removal blade must be highly precisely controlled with touch sensor, making the process complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the complex electronic control system (touch sensor and precise movement control) with a simplified mechanical system. The blade support with its parallel support surface provides automatic mechanical guidance, allowing the blade to maintain proper contact with the optical fiber through geometric constraints rather than electronic feedback control.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade support structure provides self-alignment and self-regulation through its geometric design. The support surface parallel to the table surface automatically maintains the correct blade position and angle, allowing the system to self-correct without external control intervention. This eliminates the need for touch sensors and complex movement control algorithms.
3Productivity
If the removal blade is moved along the coated optical fiber on a table, then the coat can be removed, but vibration of the blade or parallelism error causes the edge to strongly hit the fiber, requiring precise control to prevent damage
Solution Approach 1:
The blade support serves as an intermediary that decouples the blade positioning from direct table contact. By introducing this intermediate structure with a parallel support surface, the system achieves stable blade positioning without requiring high-precision table-flatness or blade movement control, thereby maintaining productivity while reducing precision requirements.
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
This approach effectively removes the coat without strongly hitting the optical fiber, maintaining its strength and simplifying the process by adjusting tension and blade force, thus preventing damage.
Implementation Method 1
pressing a coat removal blade to the coated optical fiber in a tension-applied state in a direction crossing the length direction to bend the coated optical fiber
Implementation Method 2
applying a predetermined tension to the coated optical fiber in the length direction
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5
AI summary
A coat removing method of removing a coat of a coated optical fiber 3 made of a glass fiber 3a and the coat of polyimide resin 3b covering the glass fiber 3a includes holding the coated optical fiber 3 with fiber clamps 5 and 7 at two locations spaced by a predetermined distance in a length direction of the coated optical fiber 3, applying tension to the coated optical fiber 3 in the length direction, pressing a coat removal blade 29 to the coated optical fiber 3 in the tension-applied state in a direction crossing the length direction, to bend the coated optical fiber 3, and moving the coat removal blade 29 in the length direction along the coated optical fiber 3 in the bent state, thereby removing the coat.