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AssigneeAmerican Atomics Corporation
InventorsThomas E. Caffarella, George J. Radda, David J. Watts
Estimating the term…
An elongated glass tube light source containing a luminophor and a radioactive gas is subdivided into a plurality of light sources by a plurality of laser beams directed at the tube at spaced points along the length of the tube. The laser beams are scanned back and forth transversely of the length of the tube to heat the tube and fuse the glass at each of the spaced points. The tube is rigidly supported on either side of each of the points to hold the tube stationary during the cutting operation. A single source of a continuous laser beam is divided into a plurality of beams by beam splitters. Mirrors direct the beams to the spaced points along the length of the tube and mirrors are oscillated to provide the desired scanning motion of the beams across the width of the tube.
Apparatus for subdividing a gas filled glass tube into individual sealed sections comprising means for supporting a tube in fixed position, means including a laser light beam source for directing a focused laser beam at the tube, means for repeatedly scanning the beam back and forth across the width of the tube along the same path in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube to heat the wall of the tube to a temperature at which the glass softens, and means for maintaining the gas pressure higher on the outside of the tube than on the inside of the tube causing the softened portion of the tube to collapse.
A method of dividing a sealed gas-filled glass tube into sealed segments comprising:
A method of subdividing into individual sealed segments a long, sealed glass tube coated on the inside with a luminophor and filled with a radoactive gas, the tube having a longitudinal axis and a rectangular cross section with two flat wide side surfaces and two flat narrow side surfaces, the method comprising the steps of simultaneously:
A method of subdividing into individual sealed segments a long, sealed glass tube coated on the inside with a luminophor and filled with a radioactive gas, the tube having a longitudinal axis and an elongated cross section with at least one wide side surface, the method comprising the steps of simultaneously:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.