Metal-Coated Glass Fiber, Metal-Coated Glass Fiber Strand, Method for Manufacturing Metal-Coated Glass Fiber, and Method for Manufacturing Metal-Coated Glass Fiber Strand

Abstract

A manufacturing method of a metal-coated glass fiber according to the present invention includes: drawing a glass fiber from a bushing nozzle of a glass melting furnace; discharging, from an orifice of a metal melting furnace in which a metal for forming a metal coating layer is melted, a molten metal in a dome shape or substantially spherical shape; and bringing the glass fiber into contact with the molten metal, wherein the metal melting furnace has on a wall surface thereof two orifices to discharge two droplets of the molten metal such that end portions of the two droplets abut or overlap each other to define a recess therebetween, and wherein the metal coating layer is formed on the glass fiber by passing the glass fiber downward through the recess and bringing the glass fiber into contact with both of the two droplets.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.