Method of performing arc welding between optical fibers
AssigneeAlcatel Cable Interface
InventorsMichel Reslinger, Daniel Casthelain, Roland Hakoun
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Abstract
The method of arc welding optical fibers includes a fusion and inter-penetration first step during which the ends subjected to the arc are fused and caused to inter-penetrate, and an alignment second step so as to continue the fusion under the control of the offset that is calculated on the basis of an image of the ends, which are not externally illuminated. The first step is an arc current control step performed in successive current increments, under the control of the brightness taken on by the ends after each increment.
Claims14
A method of performing arc welding between optical fibers, for a fusion cycle in which the facing ends of the fibers are fused together, the method comprising the following steps:
- a first step of subjecting said ends to a fusion arc and causing said ends to interpenetrate while they are being fused, said first step comprising the steps of:
- varying the current of said arc by successive increments;
- taking at least one image of the non-externally illuminated ends after each increment;
- calculating the brightness of each end based on the image;
- and
- stopping the incrementation and the current control step as soon as the calculated brightness of one of the ends reaches a first predetermined threshold value;
- and
- a second step of taking at least one image of said ends, which are not externally illuminated, calculating an alignment offset between the ends in each image based on the image, and causing the arc fusion to continue as long as the calculated offset remains greater than a predetermined offset threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.