At&t Bell Laboratories

American Telephone and Telegraph, Co.

Ralph E Frazee, Jr

David H Smithgall, Sr

In accordance with the invention, the functions of two TV cameras in the prior art for monitoring polymer coating concentricity and/or carbon coating thickness are accomplished by a single TV camera (48). Rather than being projected onto an opaque dispersive screen, the forward-scattered mode pattern of each of the orthogonal beams (57,58) is transmitted through a translucent screen (52,53) and reflected to an image combining device (67) which transmits both patterns to the single TV camera (48). The two beams are slightly vertically displaced to establish displaced images (72,73) of the two patterns. This allows the two patterns to be viewed simultaneously and distinguished by the TV camera. Modified electronics (FIG. 10) provide for alternate TV scanning of the two images so that a computer (22) can monitor and correct concentricity and/or carbon coating thickness in real time during fiber production.

Optical fiber coating control apparatus

Optical fiber coating control process

A laser (20) directs a laser beam at an optical fiber (12) and the resulting forward-scattered light is detected by a detector (21). The energy of the foward-scattered laser light is monotonically inversely proportional to the thickness of a carbon coating on the optical fiber. A computer (22) generates an electrical signal for controlling carbon coating thickness by driving a valve (24) to control the flow of acetylene from a source (14) used to coat the optical fiber in a coating chamber (13).

Growing community of inventors

Bricktown, NJ, United States of America

Ralph E Frazee, Jr