Method and apparatus for making arbitrarily shaped fiber optic backlighting substrates
US5303323A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 16, 1992 |
| Grant date | Apr 12, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S359/90
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Fiber optic backlighting substrates having a predetermined shape are manufactured by a special rotating fixture having a deep, narrow peripheral groove in which several windings of the fiber may be stacked on top of one another, to provide a closely packed spiral array having a thickness on the order of one fiber diameter and a radial extent equal to several times the diameter of a single fiber thick and several fibers wide. At least one wall of the groove is preferably hinged or otherwise removable, to provide convenient access to the spiral and to permit it to be removed from the fixture, whereupon the spiral may be cut radially to form a fiber optic substrate comprising a flat array of closely packed curved fibers, from which extends one or more bundles of loose fibers. By providing a cam-shaped groove having a non-constant depth relative to the rotational axis of the fixture, fiber arrays having segments of varying radii may be fabricated.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.