Process for making optical image transfer device

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF MAKING A FIBER OPTICAL IMAGE TRANSFER DEVICE COMPRISING FORMING A TIGHTLY PACKED BUNDLE OF A PLURALITY OF LONG AND THIN GLASS LIGHT-CONDUCTING FIBERS PLACED IN A SIDE-BY-SIDE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL CONGRUENT DISTRIBUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT AND WITH CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID FIBERS IN SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH RELATION WITH EACH OTHER, FORCING SAID BUNDLE OF FIBERS ENDWISE INTO A TIGHT FITTING OPEN-ENDED GLASS TUBULAR MEMBER SUBSTANTIALLY WITHOUT DISTURBING THE ALIGNED AND CONGRUENT RELATION OF SAID FIBERS CLOSING AND HERMETICALLY SEALING ONE END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER BELOW ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID FIBERS GRIPPING SAID TUBULAR MEMBER ADJACENT ITS OPPOSITE END AND SUSPENDING THE SAME SUBSTANTIALLY COAXIALLY WITH AN ANNULAR HEATING ELEMENT ADAPTED TO HEAT THE MATERIALS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND FIBERS TO A TEMPERATURE SUITABLE FOR DRAWING AND SUCH AS TO BRING ABOUT FUSION THEREOF, CONTINUALLY EVACUATING AIR AND GASSES FROM WITHIN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER THROUGH SAID OPPOSITE END THEREOF WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PROGRESSIVELY LOWERING THE ASSEMBLY OF SAID FIBERS AND TUBULAR MEMBER ENDWISE THROUGH, SAID HEATING ELEMENT AT A PREDETERMINED RATE SUCH AS TO CAUSE THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID PORTION OF SAID ASSEMBLY LYING WITHIN SAID HEATING ELEMENT TO BECOME ZONE HEATED AND SOFTENED TO AN EXTENT WHEREIN THE FIBERS AS A WHOLE AND THE TUBULAR MEMBER THEREOF WILL BE RENDERED DEFORMABLE BY THE ACTION OF SAID VACUUM WITHIN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND SAID VACUUM WILL CAUSE SAID TUBULAR MEMBER TO COLLAPSE UPON SAID FIBERS CAUSING THE SAME TO ASSUME INTERFITTING SHAPES AND BECOME FUSED TO EACH OTHER AND TO SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, CONTINUING SAID PROGRESSIVE LOWERING OF SAID ASSEMBLED FIBERS AND TUBULAR MEMBER AT SAID PREDETERMINED RATE INTO SAID HEATING ELEMENT AND DRAWING SAID HEATED ASSEMBLY ENDWISE AS A UNIT FROM SAID INITIALLY SEALED END THEREOF AT A PREDETERMINED RATE GREATER THAN THAT OF SAID LOWERING TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ATTENUATE SAID FIBERS AND TUBULAR MEMBER OF SAID ASSEMBLY.

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF MAKING A BUNDLE OF ALIGNED TRANSPARENT FIBER MEMBERS CONSISTING OF THE STEPS OF LONGITUDINALLY ALIGNING A MULTIPLICITY OF TRANSPARENT ROD MEMBERS WITHIN THE LUMEN OF A TRANSPARENT CYLINDER MEMBER, EACH OF SAID ROD MEMBER CONSISTING OF A TRANSPARENT CORE COATED WITH A TRANSPARENT MATERIAL CHARACTERIZED BY A LOWER INDEX OF REFRACTION THAN SUCH INDEX OF SAID CORE, ALL SUCH MEMBERS AND COATING MATERIAL BEING SELECTED SO AS TO HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME MELTING TEMPERATURE AND COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION, AND HEATING SUCH COMBINATION TO A TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE SOFTENING POINT THEREOF WHILE DRAWING SUCH COMBINATION TO CONCURRENTLY LENGTHEN AND REDUCE THE DIAMETER OF SAID ROD MEMBERS INTO FIBERS AND CAUSE THE MATERIAL FORMING SUCH CYLINDER MEMBER TO FLOW INWARDLY INTO INTIMATE RELATION THREWITH.