JPH0355504A - Numerous fiber element and manufacturing method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a multiple fiber element in which the deformation of an image is small and whose area is large by forming an isotropic initial stage tile, connecting the initial stage tile with plural initial stage tiles and forming a second stage tile. CONSTITUTION: A strand is formed by aligning multiple fibers so that they make a projecting and recessing relation with the respective pairs of adjacent fibers. The tangent against the section of the strand becomes an isotropic triangle or a regular hexagon and it is sintered so as to form the initial stage tile elements 14. Then, the tile elements of the large sections are formed by gathering the multiple initial stage tiles 14 in the projecting and recessing relation. They are sintered and the large second stage tiles 12 are formed. Then, the third stage tile 10 can be formed from the second stage tiles 12 in the same way. Thus, the multiple fibers in which the deformation of the image is small and whose areas are large compared to a conventional case can be provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to fused arrays of fibers, e.g. The present invention relates to an arrangement in which the distortion of the image due to the displacement of the lateral position is minimized and the area is large.

As a prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,807 discloses a method in which a large number of optical fibers are arranged in a concave-convex relationship and fused to form a subassembly, and then fused together to form a final arrangement. It describes what to do. A number of three-filament fibers, each consisting of a large central filament and two small diameter filaments fused 180 degrees apart, are arranged in a concave-convex relationship with respect to the large central section, with the small diameter fiber sections housed in the valleys. Forming fused subassemblies and forming a fused array of multiple subassemblies in similar concave-convex and filamentary relationship is known as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,313. be.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,524 discloses a technique that uses running water to align randomly assembled groups of loosely disposed fibers. Means for Solving the Problems According to the method for forming a multi-fiber element according to the present invention, an optical device is advantageously manufactured, and the method first involves forming a multi-fiber element in a concave-convex relationship with each adjacent pair of fibers. The strands are oriented so that the tangents to the cross section of the strands are isotropic triangles or regular hexagons (the tangents form isotropic polygons) and sintered to form the corresponding initial tile elements. (tiles) and then forming tile elements of at least a large cross-section by bringing together a number of said initial stage tiles in a concave-convex relationship and sintering them to form larger second stage tiles. Includes each process. In a preferred embodiment, the fiber has a circular cross section;
Distilled water is used to wet the initial stage tiles during sintering to form the second stage strands (tiles);
And when forming even larger strands, wet the larger tiles. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a novel tile element for the aforementioned second stage and larger tiles, in which all the fibers are in a convex-concave relationship with adjacent pairs of fibers, and the tile (and the discs cut from the tile) ) has handedness.
ness, that is, when a disk manufactured from tiles of the second stage or higher stage is turned over, the shapes are not the same in a plan view but are mirror images), and the concave-convex engagement relationship according to the present invention is completely achieved, and the tile If the joints were not evident even by microscopic examination of the cross-sections, the second stage tiles were made of third stage dimensions (third stage tiles), and from these third stage tiles fourth stage tiles of larger dimensions were made. Similar handiness can be obtained when manufacturing. <Examples> The objects, functions, and effects of the present invention will be made clear by the following description with reference to the drawings illustrating examples of the present invention. The third stage majority fiber is shown as number 10 in FIG. There are seven I-stage # (initial stage) multiple fibers 14, each I-stage multiple fiber consisting of a central fiber 16 and six fibers 18 surrounding it in a hexagonal arrangement, each having a cylindrical outer surface of the same diameter. have

When manufacturing the 10 multi-fibers shown in FIG.
The two single fibers are arranged in a hexagonal orbital relationship with one at the center as shown in the first stage multi-fiber 14. (
Single Fiber Preform This preform is a cylindrical lightweight tube having a central portion and a jacket annulus, well known to those skilled in the art, and having an outside diameter of 2.54 c+++. These are then sintered in the above relationship to form a primitive pre-tile and then stretched to reduce the diameter of the pre-tile and its seven elements to 1/10 of its previous diameter (thus each element has a diameter of 0.
．． 254 cm) The primitive tile is now formed.

Next, place 7 primitive tiles, 1 in the center, 6 in 6
The tiles are arranged in a rectangular encircling relationship, with the elements of each tile coming into contact with the adjacent ones in a concave-convex relationship. The elements are wetted with distilled water to facilitate bonding and provide temporary adhesion through surface tension. Sintering is performed to form an integral second stage pre-tile, and stretching is performed to provide a diameter of 1710 mm for this second stage pre-tile and each of its elements. Each of the 49 single fibers has a diameter of 0.0254 cm to form a second stage tile.

7 second stage tiles in the same way (6 around 1
(enclosed in a rectangular shape) as shown in Figure 1. Distilled water is used for the same purpose as above. When the second stage tiles have handedness, it is necessary to orient them axially so that all seven tiles have the same handedness. The peripheral elements of each tile are made to abut adjacent elements in a concave-convex relationship. The 7 pieces are integrated by sintering (fusion) to form the third stage pre-tile. Stretch this to reduce the diameter to 1/1
0, so the diameter of each of the 343 fibers is 0.0025c+m, and the third stage tile is manufactured.

Collect a sufficient number of third stage tiles to form a fourth stage tile array approximately 2.5 cm in diameter. This requires several dozen third stage tiles. Handedness requires similar attention, and the same goes for unevenness. Water is used for the same purpose at this stage. Step 4: The tile array (not pre-tiled, as no stretching is done) is placed inside a soft, etchable, bottle glass cylinder, sintered in a vacuum, and the tiles are simply fused together by the heat of sintering. Instead, it causes softening and stretching of the bottle glass around the array, protecting the perimeter geometry. The stretched fourth stage tiles are sliced into wafers. The wafers are mounted on a jig to create the desired significantly larger area. Create the optical element. Similar attention to handiness is required and these 4th stage tiles (which are not stretched after slicing but are still 4th stage tiles)
A similar relationship exists for the unevenness relationship. By final sintering, an optical element with a substantial area is produced, for example using a suitable hot press. In order to sinter the tiles or pre-tiles at each stage, they are held in place by wrapping a rubber band in the wet state after assembly.

OPERATION The method and apparatus of the present invention provide products with significantly larger areas than those of the prior art, and image distortions are avoided in optical (such as fiber optic face plates) or electronic (such as microchannel plates) devices. It is extremely small. This provides an element that is aesthetically aligned and essentially free of shear (lateral variation between fibers between input and output ends). The product of the invention is a hexagonal lattice, and the distance between the fiber centerlines is the same in each direction.

Alternate embodiments may have any desired number of initial fibers. Although the triangular arrangement shown in FIG. 2 is ten fibers, it may be three, or any other suitable number as long as the outer edge fibers form an isotropic triangle. Similarly, 1 in Figure 1
The stage fiber is not limited to 7, but may be 19, 37
Other numbers may also be used. Each element contacts the surface of another element in a tangential relationship in cross section, forming a regular hexagon. Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
Various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention, which is limited by the scope of the claims.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic enlarged view of a third stage multi-fiber according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged view of another embodiment. 10: 3rd stage multiple fibers 12: 2nd stage multiple fibers l4: 1st stage multiple fibers 16
:Central fiber 18: Engraving of peripheral fiber drawings (no changes to internal customers) FIG, 2 Procedural amendment dated August 70, 1990

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical element, comprising: forming an isotropic initial stage tile; and combining the initial stage tile with a plurality of initial stage tiles to form a second stage tile. forming each second stage tile in a concave-convex relationship with each adjacent pair of fibers. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fiber has a cylindrical outer diameter, each outer diameter being the same. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein each second stage tile is comprised of seven initial stage tiles, and the central one and the six surrounding it are arranged in a concave-convex relationship. how to. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second stage tile is integrally combined with a plurality of other second stage tiles to form a third stage tile.
A method of forming stage tiles, wherein each fiber of the third stage tile is in a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the third stage tile comprises seven second stage tiles consisting of one central second stage tile and six second stage tiles surrounding it. How to characterize it. 6. A method for manufacturing a tile larger than the third stage tile by integrally bonding a plurality of the third stage tiles, characterized in that each fiber in the structure has a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers. Method. 7. A method for manufacturing a majority-many fiber by integrally coupling a plurality of minority-many fibers, each said minority-many fiber including an isotropic initial stage tile, and each fiber of the majority-many fiber is connected to an adjacent fiber. The method described above is characterized in that it forms a convex-concave relationship with the pair. 8. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 7, characterized in that a liquid is used during said bonding so that its surface tension assists in holding together the tiles to be bonded during manufacture. Method. 9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that the liquid is distilled water. 10. A multi-fiber optical element comprising a central isotropic initial stage tile and a plurality of tiles surrounding the central tile, wherein each fiber of the multi-fiber optical element is in a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers. Fiber optics. 11. The device of claim 10, wherein said number is six, said six tiles being equivalent to a central tile surrounded by said tiles, each consisting of fibers having a cylindrical outer shape and the same diameter. Featured elements. 12. In claim 11, said plurality of tiles is further surrounded by six plurality tiles, each of which is an element according to claim 11, each fiber of said element being in a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers; An element characterized by forming a three-stage tile. 13. A method as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that in at least one step the tile is stretched to reduce its diameter and the diameter of each component. 14. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that the tile is stretched in each of three stages. 15. The plurality of tiles further comprises:
An element characterized in that it is surrounded by six multi-tiles, each of which is an element according to claim 12, each fiber of the element being in a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers. 16. A method characterized in that a wafer of tiles is produced by laterally slicing an elongated tile. 17. A method for manufacturing a wafer having a larger area than the wafer according to claim 16, wherein a plurality of wafers according to claim 16 are collected, and each abutting fiber has a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers. A method characterized by: 18. The method of claim 12, wherein a plurality of said third stage tiles are arranged such that each fiber is in a concave-convex relationship with an adjacent pair of fibers, and the formed array is placed within a tube of a bottle glass. and applying a vacuum and heating to sinter the fiber and form a coating on the bottle glass. 19. The product obtained by the method according to claim 18 is used as a wafer, the bottle glass is removed by etching, and the obtained thin tiles are fitted into each other so that the fibers of adjacent tiles form a convex-concave relationship with adjacent pairs of fibers. A method characterized by combining.