Back to results
US 11,702,358 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for reproducibly producing a preform for glass fiber manufacture
AssigneeJ-Fiber GmbH
InventorWolfgang Haemmerle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a method and a device for producing a preform for glass fiber production. The method comprises the steps of providing a carrier gas with a desired, precisely adjusted temperature, loading the carrier gas with halide vapor, mixing the loaded carrier gas with additional gases, and producing the preform in a reaction chamber with substrate.
Claims18
Method for producing a preform for glass fiber production, comprising the steps
- a1) providing at least two oxygen gas-containing carrier gas streams with the same or different temperature, and
- a2) heating and/or cooling of at least one oxygen gas-containing carrier gas stream of said at least two oxygen gas-containing carrier gas streams so that said at least two oxygen gas-containing carrier gas streams have a different temperature,
- a3) Introducing said at least two oxygen gas-containing carrier gas streams into a mixing unit, the mixing unit being arranged in a temperature-controllable unit, wherein said at least two oxygen gas-containing carrier gas streams are each controlled by one mass flow controller, and producing a mixed carrier gas stream with a precisely set temperature T1,
- b) introducing the mixed carrier gas stream from step (a3) at temperature T1 into a vaporizer system comprising a vaporizer liquid at temperature T2 and at least one preform precursor, a vaporizer inlet and a vaporizer outlet,
- c) loading the mixed carrier gas stream with at least one preform precursor to form a loaded carrier gas stream in the vaporizer system by passing the mixed carrier gas stream through the vaporizer liquid, wherein the loaded carrier gas stream has the temperature T3 at the vaporizer outlet,
- d) mixing the loaded carrier gas stream from step (c) in a mixing chamber with one or more additional gases to obtain a mixed gas stream, and
- e) producing a preform for glass fiber production in a reaction chamber containing a substrate tube, using the mixed gas stream from step (d), and wherein the temperature T1 is below a transport temperature T4, wherein the transport temperature T4 corresponds to the lowest temperature value of the loaded carrier gas stream, on a transport path of the loaded carrier gas stream from the vaporizer outlet of step (b) across the mixing chamber of step (d), up to the reaction chamber, and wherein the transport temperature T4 is maintained above the dew point at the vaporizer outlet.
4 more elements
Device for producing a preform for glass fibre production comprising:
- i) at least one carrier gas source which supplies carrier gas to two temperature control units, wherein the temperature control units are suitable for heating and/or cooling the carrier gas;
- ii) a mixing unit connected to the temperature control units for obtaining two carrier gas streams generated in the temperature control units, wherein the mixing unit is capable of mixing the two carrier gas streams to generate a mixed carrier gas stream,
- iii) a vaporizer with temperature control and pressure control and vaporizer inlet and vaporizer outlet, wherein the vaporizer is capable of receiving said mixed carrier gas stream directly from the mixing unit, wherein the vaporizer comprises a container comprising an immersion tube,
- iv) a heatable piping system between the vaporizer outlet and a mixing chamber, wherein the mixing chamber is configured to mix a loaded carrier gas stream with one or more further gas streams from at least one further gas source to obtain a mixed gas stream;
- and
- v) a reaction chamber for the production of a preform for glass fiber production.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.