Corning Incorporated

Erling Richard Anderson

Nikolaos Pantelis Kladias

John Michael Jewell

Tammy Michelle Hoffmann

Robert Clark Moore

Kenneth William Roberts

Chunfeng Zhou

Richard E Blazek

William J Kish

Steven Bruce Dawes

Elias Panides

Xiaoyong Wang

Christopher Scott Thomas

Roger A Rose

Stephen Mitchell Carlton

Robert Walter Nason

Eric Wade Thornton

Leo Young Zheng

An optical fiber draw furnace system including a muffle, a downfeed handle, and a downfeed handle extension portion. The downfeed handle is moveably disposed within an inner cavity of the muffle. The downfeed handle extension portion is connected to the downfeed handle and moveably disposed within the inner cavity of the muffle. Furthermore, the downfeed handle extension portion forms a first gap between an outer surface of the downfeed handle extension portion and an inner surface of the muffle, the first gap having a length in a range of about 0.001 m to about 0.2 m.

Optical fiber draw furnace system and method

An optical fiber forming apparatus comprises: a draw furnace comprising: (i) a muffle with an inner surface, (ii) an axial opening below the muffle, the inner surface of the muffle defining a passageway extending through the axial opening, and (iii) an upper inlet into the passageway; and a tube that extends into the passageway of the draw furnace above the axial opening, the tube having (i) an outer surface and the inner surface of the muffle surrounds the outer surface of the tube with a space separating the outer surface of the tube from the inner surface of the muffle, (ii) an inner surface that defines a second passageway extending through the tube, (iii) an inlet into the second passageway of the tube, (iii) an outlet out of the second passageway of the tube.

Optical fiber forming apparatus

A furnace system includes a muffle defining a furnace cavity. A lower heater is coupled to the muffle and is configured to create a hot zone within the furnace cavity having a temperature of about 1900&#xb0; C. or greater. An upper muffle extension is positioned above the muffle and defines a handle cavity. A downfeed handle is positioned within the handle cavity such that a gap is defined between an outer surface of the downfeed handle and an inner surface of the upper muffle extension. An upper heater is thermally coupled to the upper muffle extension and configured to heat the gap. A gas screen is positioned in the upper muffle extension and is configured to inject a process gas into the handle cavity.

Method and apparatus for suppressing flow instabilities in an optical fiber draw system

A system for positioning an optical preform in a furnace is provided that includes an upper muffle and a downfeed handle assembly with a tube defining a first end and a second end, the second end extending into the upper muffle. A handle is disposed within the tube. A second end of the handle extends into the upper muffle and a seal assembly is positioned around both the tube and the handle. The first end of the handle extends through the seal assembly and a drive assembly is coupled with the downfeed handle.

System and method for positioning an optical preform in a furnace

An optical fiber draw furnace muffle includes a body portion defining a substantially cylindrical cavity extending along a centerline axis of the muffle. A tapered portion has an interior surface which defines a first curved portion with a first radius of curvature and a second curved portion with a second radius of curvature. At least one of the first and second radii of curvature has a radius greater than a radius of the cylindrical cavity.

Tapered furnace muffles

Disclosed herein are methods for regenerating metal catalysts used in the purification of inert gases for use in fiber draw furnaces and other applications. The methods described herein can regenerate metal catalysts alone or in combination with molecular sieves. The methods disclosed herein are able to prevent the formation and retention of unwanted byproducts during and after the regeneration process, thereby efficiently converting oxidized catalysts to their reduced or elemental form. Gases purified with catalysts regenerated by the methods disclosed herein, when used in fiber draw furnaces and similar applications, can lead to extended equipment lifetimes and higher-quality products due to the lack of degradation by contaminants in the gas stream.

Regeneration process for metal catalyst based gas purifiers

A system and methods for automating the testing of optical fiber are described. According to one aspect of the present invention, an automated conveyor system moves spools of optical fiber contained on pallets from testing station to testing station. According to another aspect of the present invention, a single spool is carried by a specially designed pallet. According to another aspect of present invention, an apparatus automatically strips, cleans, and cleaves the fiber ends once the spool reaches the apparatus. The fiber ends are then automatically manipulated into the appropriate location for a predetermined test to be performed. According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus automatically acquires a sample length of the optical fiber and strips, cleans, and cleaves the fiber ends of the sample. The sample length of the optical fiber is then manipulated into the appropriate location for a second predetermined test to be performed.

Growing community of inventors

Wilmington, NC, United States of America

Erling Richard Anderson