Method for stripping optical fibers by hydration and dehydration
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorsClaude Eugene Walraven, Robert Gordon Wiley
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a method for stripping an optical fiber cable having a polymer coating and an optical fiber using hydration and dehydration techniques. A section of optical fiber cable is first immersed in a hydrating agent, thereby hydrating the corresponding section of polymer coating and causing it to swell. The hydrated polymer coating is then rapidly heated to a fragmentation temperature causing the polymer coating to dehydrate and fragment. Subsequently, the dehydrated polymer coating is re-hydrated using the hydrating agent to separate the polymer coating from the optical fiber.
Claims10
A method for stripping an optical fiber cable having a polymer coating and an optical fiber, the method comprising the steps of:
- hydrating a section of polymer coating along the optical fiber cable using a first hydrating agent having methylene chloride to create a hydrated polymer coating section;
- dehydrating the hydrated polymer coating section using a heat source generating forced air at least at a fragmentation temperature to create a dehydrated polymer coating section, the fragmentation temperature being approximately 270 degrees Celsius;
- and
- re-hydrating the dehydrated polymer coating section using a second hydrating agent having methylene chloride to separate the section of polymer coating being re-hydrated from the optical fiber without mechanical stripping.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.