USRE36157EExpiredUtility

Methods of manufacture of improved linear optical conduits

67
Assignee: LUMENYTE INTPriority: Jan 30, 1989Filed: Aug 21, 1996Granted: Mar 23, 1999
Est. expiryJan 30, 2009(expired)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:John A. RobbinsJames R. ZarianSandford R. Willford
B29C 48/00G02B 6/02033G02B 6/24Y10S264/71G02B 6/3801G02B 6/3644G02B 6/3616G02B 6/3803B29C 48/09G02B 6/032B29C 48/06G02B 6/4476
67
PatentIndex Score
22
Cited by
36
References
27
Claims

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a heat shrink clad core optical conduit and to an optical conduit having either a thermoplastic, thermoset or liquid, light transmitting core surrounded by, preferably a fluoropolymer cladding which is in turn surrounded by a tight-fitting, finish polymer jacket which may be either transparent or translucent, and is preferably made of a polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, acrylic or silicone material. Numerous fillers and inserts may be used in the finish jacket polymer and the finish jacket polymer may be formed into various shapes. Bondable jacket materials may be used. The preferred method of forming the manufacturing jacket around a heat shrinkable fluoropolymer cladding is by extruding a low extrusion temperature polymer over a heat shrink clad in its expanded form into which an increased interior pressure is maintained to prevent shrinkage during the extrusion process. The preferred method of forming the finish jacket around a base clad core material is by an extrusion process where the finish jacket material is extruded over a heat shrink type fluoropolymer clad, in its expanded form, cured thermoset core thereby simultaneously shrinking the clad.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
We claim: 
     
       1. A method of making a linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a length of light transmitting monofilament core surrounded with an expanded, heat shrinkable fluoropolymer cladding as a base conduit;   selecting a polymer as a finish jacket material; and   extruding the polymer over the length of base conduit at a temperature sufficient to shrink the heat shrinkable cladding and to form a finish jacket optical conduit.   
     
     
       2. A method of making a linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a plurality of lengths of light transmitting monofilament cores each surrounded with an expanded, heat shrinkable fluoropolymer cladding;   splicing the plurality of lengths to each other to form a single length of spliced base conduit;   selecting a polymer as a finish jacket material; and   extruding the polymer over the single length of spliced base conduit at a temperature sufficient to shrink the heat shrinkable cladding.   
     
     
       3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the monofilament core is a thermoset optical polymer. 
     
     
       4. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting essentially of acrylic, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride and silicone. 
     
     
       5. The process of making a flexible, clad monofilament linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a tubular heat shrink fluoropolymer cladding having a pre-expanded first inner diameter which is less than an ultimate outer diameter of a flexible cylindrical core, and said cladding having been expanded so that it has a second inner diameter greater than the ultimate outer diameter of the core;   extruding over the expanded cladding, a manufacturing jacket consisting essentially of a low extrusion temperature polymer and at a temperature which is less than that required to effectuate shrinkage of the heat shrink clad;   placing a polymerizable monomer mixture inside the cladding;   polymerizing the mixture to form the flexible cylindrical core;   removing the jacket; and   applying heat to the cladding effective to shrink the cladding around the outer periphery of the core.   
     
     
       6. The process of claim 5 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is poly(vinyl acetate). 
     
     
       7. The process of claim 5 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is a co-polymer. 
     
     
       8. The process of claim 7 wherein the co-polymer is ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer. 
     
     
       9. The process of making a flexible, clad monofilament linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a tubular heat shrink fluoropolymer cladding having a pre-expanded first inner diameter which is less than a final outer diameter of a flexible cylindrical core, and said cladding having been expanded so that it has a second inner diameter greater than the predetermined outer diameter of the core;   pressurizing the inside of the cladding above the pressure outside the cladding to establish a pressure differential;   maintaining the pressure differential;   extruding over the expanded cladding a manufacturing jacket consisting essentially of a low extrusion temperature polymer and at a temperature which is less than that required to effectuate shrinkage of the heat shrink cladding.   placing a polymerizable monomer mixture inside the cladding;   polymerizing the mixture to form the flexible core;   removing the jacket; and   applying heat to the cladding effective to shrink the cladding around the outer periphery of the core.   
     
     
       10. The process of claim 9 wherein the internal pressure of the cladding is maintained at about 40 to 100 pounds per square inch above the external pressure around the cladding. 
     
     
       11. The process of claim 9 or 10 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is poly(vinyl acetate). 
     
     
       12. The process of claim 9 or 10 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is poly(ethylene). 
     
     
       13. The process of claim 9 or 10 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is a co-polymer. 
     
     
       14. The process of claim 9 or 10 wherein the polymer is ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer. 
     
     
       15. The process of making a flexible, clad monofilament linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a tubular heat shrink fluoropolymer cladding having a pre-expanded first inner diameter which is less than an ultimate outer diameter of a flexible cylindrical core, and said cladding having been expanded so that it has a second diameter greater than the ultimate outer diameter of the core;   extruding over the expanded cladding a manufacturing jacket consisting essentially of a low extrusion temperature polymeric material which extrudes at a temperature which is less than that which would cause the heat shrink clad to shrink to a third diameter equal to or less than the ultimate outer diameter of the core;   placing a polymerizable monomer mixture inside the cladding;   polymerizing the mixture to form the flexible core;   removing the jacket; and   applying heat to the cladding effective to shrink the cladding to a third diameter and effective to relatively and uniformly minimize any gap between the outer periphery of the core and the inner periphery of the cladding.   
     
     
       16. The process of claim 15 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is poly(vinyl acetate). 
     
     
       17. The process of claim 15 wherein the first inner diameter of the heat shrink clad is about ninety percent or less of the ultimate outer diameter of the core. 
     
     
       18. The process of claim 15 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is a co-polymer. 
     
     
       19. The process of claim 18 wherein the co-polymer is ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer. 
     
     
       20. The process of making a flexible, clad monofilament linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a tubular heat shrink fluoropolymer cladding having a pre-expanded first inner diameter which is less than a ultimate diameter of a flexible cylindrical core, and said cladding having been expanded so that it has a second diameter greater than the ultimate outer diameter of the core;   pressurizing and maintaining pressure inside of the cladding, in an expanded form, at a pressure sufficient to prevent shrinkage during an extrusion process to a third diameter which is equal to or less than the ultimate outer diameter of the core;   while maintaining the pressure inside the cladding, extruding over the cladding a manufacturing jacket consisting essentially of a low extrusion temperature polymer material which will extrude at a temperature which is high enough to cause shrinking the heat shrink cladding, said pressure inside the cladding preventing said shrinking;   placing a polymerizable monomer mixture inside the cladding;   polymerizing the mixture to form the flexible core;   removing the jacket; and   applying heat to the cladding effective to shrink the cladding around the third diameter and effective to relatively and uniformly minimize any gap which may exist between the outer periphery of the core, and the inner periphery of the cladding.   
     
     
       21. The process of claim 20 wherein the pressure inside of the cladding is maintained at about 40 to 100 pounds per square inch. 
     
     
       22. The process of claim 20 or 21 where the low extrusion temperature polymer is poly(vinyl acetate). 
     
     
       23. The process of claim 20 or 21 where the low extrusion temperature polymer is poly(ethylene). 
     
     
       24. The process of claim 20 or 21 wherein the inner first diameter of the cladding is about ninety percent or less than the ultimate outer diameter of the core. 
     
     
       25. The process of claim 20 or 21 wherein the low extrusion temperature polymer is a co-polymer. 
     
     
       26. The process of claim 25 wherein the co-polymer is ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer. .Iadd. 
     
     
       27.  The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a clad, optical conduit having a light-transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding; and   extruding over aid conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric jacket. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. The process of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:   selecting said clad, optical conduit to have a combined diameter of about 0.50 inches; and   extruding over said conduit said transparent or translucent polymeric jacket to provide for an inner diameter no greater than 0.05 inches greater than the outer diameter of said cladding. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. The process of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:   selecting said clad, optical conduit to have a combined diameter of about 0.125 inches; and   extruding over said conduit said transparent or translucent polymeric jacket to provide for an inner diameter no greater than 0.025 inches greater than the outer diameter of said cladding. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. The process of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:   extruding over said conduit said transparent or translucent polymeric jacket to provide for a wall thickness in the range of about 0.010 inches to about 0.50 inches. .Iaddend..Iadd.31. The process of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:   extruding over said conduit said transparent or translucent polymeric jacket to provide for a wall thickness in the range of about 0.010 inches to about 0.3875 inches. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. The process of claim 27 further including the step of etching or sanding said jacket. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. A method of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a length of a monofilament, light transmitting core selected from the group consisting essentially of thermoplastic or thermoset polymers of a first refractive index surrounded by a clad having a second refractive index which is lower than said first refractive index as a base conduit;   selecting a light transmitting polymer as a finish jacket; and   extruding said polymer over said length of said base conduit. .Iaddend..Iadd.34. A method of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a length of a liquid, monofilament light transmitting core of a first refractive index surrounded by a clad having a second refractive index lower than said first refractive index as a base conduit;   selecting a light transmitting polymer as a finish jacket; and   extruding said polymer over said length of said base conduit to form a finish jacket optical conduit capable of emitting light circumferentially   
     
     
        transverse to said conduit length. .Iaddend..Iadd.35.  A method of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a plurality of light transmitting cores selected from the group consisting essentially of thermoplastic or thermoset polymer of a first refractive index surrounded by a clad having a second refractive index lower than said first refractive index as a base conduit;   selecting a light transmitting polymer as a finish jacket; and   extruding said polymer over said plurality to form a finish jacket optical conduit capable of emitting light circumferentially transverse to said conduit. .Iaddend..Iadd.36. A method of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a plurality of lengths of light transmitting cores selected from the group consisting essentially of thermoplastic or thermoset polymers of a first refractive index surrounded by a clad having a second refractive index lower than said first refractive index;   splicing said lengths of cores to form a base conduit;   selecting a light transmitting polymer as a finish jacket; and   extruding said polymer over said base conduit. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. The process of any of claims 27, 33, 34, 35 or 36 in which the extruding step is performed so as to minimize any gap between the outside of said cladding and the inside of said jacket. .Iaddend..Iadd.38. The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a linear light conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding; and   extruding over said conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric jacket to provide for an aura upon transmission of light therethrough said   
     
     
        conduit. .Iaddend..Iadd.39.  The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a linear light conduit having a light transmitting core and a heat shrinkable clad extending over the length of the core;   shrinking the heat shrinkable clad; and   extruding over said conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric jacket. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a linear light conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding;   placing over the entire length of said conduit a heat shrinkable transparent or translucent polymeric jacket; and   
     
     
       shrinking said jacket to form said jacketed conduit. .Iaddend..Iadd.41. The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a linear light conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding; and   extruding over said conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric jacket having a Shore hardness of at least about 80. .Iaddend..Iadd.42. The process of claim 41 further including the step of shaping said jacketed linear light conduit to a predetermined shape. .Iaddend..Iadd.43. The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a first linear light conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding;   selecting a second linear light conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding;   splicing the first conduit to the second conduit to form a base conduit; and   extruding over said base conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric   
     
     
        jacket. .Iaddend..Iadd.44.  The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of: selecting a linear light base conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding having a diameter no greater than 0.50 inches; and   extruding over said conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric jacket having an inner diameter no greater than 0.05 inches greater than the outer diameter of said cladding. .Iaddend..Iadd.45. The process of making a jacketed linear light conduit comprising the steps of:   selecting a linear light base conduit having a light transmitting core and a fluoropolymeric cladding having a diameter no greater than 0.125 inches; and   extruding over said conduit a transparent or translucent polymeric jacket having an inner diameter no greater than 0.025 inches greater than the outer diameter of said cladding. .Iaddend.

Join the waitlist — get patent alerts

Track USRE36157E — get alerts on status changes and closely related new filings.

We store only your email — no account needed. See our privacy policy.