Method of manufacturing optical image transfer devices

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF FORMING A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY LONG FLEXIBLE OPTICAL IMAGE TRANSFER DEVICES COMORISING A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF RELATIVELY LONG THIN FLEXIBLE FILAMENTS OF SMALL CROSS-SECTIONAL SIZE HAVING THEIR OPPOSITE END PORTIONS SIMILARLY GEOMETRICALLY ARRANGED AND SECURED TOGETHER IN SIDE-BY-SIDE BUNCHED RELATION AND THEIR INTERMEDIATE PORTIONS FREE, SAID METHOD COMPRISING HEATING A BAR OF CLEAR TRANSPARENT GLASS HAVING A RELATIVELY HIGH REFRACTIVE INDEX TO A SOFTENING TEMEPRATURE AND WITHDRAWING FROM SAID BAR A VERY THIN CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE THREAD, COATING SAID THREAD WITH A CONTINUOUS OUTER ENCIRCULING FILM IOF MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF POLYVINYL SILICATE AND TERA-ETHYL-ORTHO-SILICATE AND HAVING A RELATIVELY LOW REFRACTIVE INDEX, WINDING SAID THREAD AFTER SAID COATING HAS HARDENED UPON A MANDREL IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO FORM A SINGLE LAYER HELIX OF MANY CLOSELY ADJACENT CONVOLUTES, ACCURATELY LOCATING AND CEMENTING A PAIR OF RIGID TRANSFER RODS TO CLOSELY ADJACENT SPACED AREAS OF SAID HELIX IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO BE SECURED TO AND EXTEND TRANSVERSELY OF EACH OF SAID CONVOLUTES, CUTTING THE CONVOLUTES OF SAID HELIX INTERMEDIATE SAID RODS SO AS TO ALLOW SAID HELIX AND TRANSFER RODS TO BE UNWRAPPED FROM SAID MANDREL AND FORM BETWEEN SAID CEMENTED AREAS A FLEXIBLE LAYER OF GENERALLY STRAIGHTR PARALLEL COATED FILAMENTS HELD IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION AT THEIR OPPOSITE ENDS BY SAID RODS, POSITIONING SAID RODS AND SAID LAYER UPON SPACED SUPPORTING BLOCKS AND IN EXACT PREDETERMINED RELATION LATERALLY RELATIVE TO SAID BLOCKS, AND ADHERING THE OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF SAID LAYER TO SAID BLOCKS RESPECTIVELY, REMOVING SAID RODS FROM SAID LAYER, REPEATING THE PRECEDING METHOD STEPS FOR FORMING LIKE FLEXIBLE LAYERS AND SECURING EACH LAYER AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS TO THE PRECEDING LAYER UPON THE BLOCKS A SUITABLY LARGE NUMBER OF TIMES SO AS TO PRODUCE UPON SAID BLOCKS A STACK OF LAYERS OF COATED FILAMENTS OF THE THICKNESS DESIRED, TREATING THE ADJACENT END PORTIONS OF ALL OF THE COATED FILAMENTS AT EACH END OF THE STACK TOGETHER SO AS TO CAUSE THE END PORTIONS ONLY OF THE ADJACENT COATED FILAMENTS TO ADHERE TOGETHER, REMOVING SAID STACK FROM SAID BLOCKS AND LONGITUDINALLY SERING SAID STACK INTO A PLURALITY OF COMPACT GROUPS OF COATED ASSEMBLED FILAMENTS EACH HAVING A CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA SUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE AN OPTICAL IMAGE TRANSFER DEVICE HAVING ENTRANCE AND EXIT AREAS OF THE PREDETERMINED SIZE DESIRED.