Device for the protective covering of optical fibres

Claim 1

An apparatus for forming a protective covering on an optical fibre, by butt welding the ends of two fibres for the purpose of covering a base length of fibre on either side of the butt weld between two covered lengths of fibre, and comprising: a press employing means for transmitting air pressure through a piston in an injection cylinder in working relation thereto, said injection cylinder having means to feed raw moldable material into a mold in alignment therewith, means to close said mold around the base length of said fibre, said mold being defined by three separable parts; a first part for delimiting a distributed-feed chamber on its downward side, facing the fibre and having a cup on its upward side facing the cylinder, with at least one passageway leading from the cup into the chamber; a second part, being a plate with a half-round groove on its downward side facing the fibre and having a plurality of feed holes in two staggered rows along said groove, each row of said holes on either side of a vertical plane passing through the center line of said half-round groove and normal to the horizontal plane passing through said center-line; said passageway being positioned on said center-line, and a third part, with a half-round groove on its upward side complementary to the groove of said second part, to form a cylindrical mold print of the dimensions and geometry of the covering to be formed, said second and third parts having receiving means to position said covered lengths of fibre.

Claim 2

An apparatus for forming a protective covering on an optical fibre, by butt welding the ends of two fibres for the purpose of covering a base length of fibre on either side of the butt weld between two covered lengths of fibre, and comprising: a press employing means for transmitting air pressure through a piston in an injection cylinder in working relation thereto, said injection cylinder having means to feed raw moldable material into a mold in alignment therewith, means to close said mold around the base length of said fibre, said mold being defined by three separable parts; a first part for delimiting a distributed-feed chamber on its downward side, facing the fibre and having a cup on its upward side facing the cylinder, with at least one passageway leading from the cup into the chamber; a second part, being a plate with a half-round groove on its downward side facing the fibre and having a plurality of feed holes in two staggered rows along said groove, each row of said holes on either side of a vertical plane passing through the center line of said half-round groove and normal to the horizontal plane passing through said center-line; said passageway being positioned on said center-line, and a third part, with a half-round groove on its upward side complementary to the groove of said second part, to form a cylindrical mold print of the dimensions and geometry of the covering to be formed, said second and third parts having receiving means to position said covered lengths of fibre.