Fiber energy conducting device having a heat shrunken tubular fitting

Claim 1

A FIBER ENERGY CONDUCTING DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED COMPRISING MULTIPLICITY OF LONG AND THIN NORMALLY FLEXIBLE ENERGY-CONDUCTING FIBERS ARRANGED IN SIDEBY-SIDE BUNDLED RELATIONSHIP WITH CORRESPONDING ONE ENDS THEREOF COOPERATIVELY DEFINING AN END FACE OF SAID DEVICE, A RELATIVELY LONG AND RESILIENT TUBULAR SHEATH SURROUNDING THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID BUNDLE OF FIBERS AND EXTENDING THEREALONG FROM A POINT BACK AWAY FROM SAID END FACE, A RELATIVELY SHORT CONTINUOUS TUBULAR FITTING OF INITIALLY DILATED BUT HEAD SHRUNKEN PLASTIC MATERIAL CONTRACTED INTO IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING RELATION WITH AT LEAST A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID BUNDLE OF FIBERS BETWEEN SAID END FACE AND SHEATH AND EXTENDING INTO EVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP WITH AN ADJACENT SECTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID SHEATH, SAID TUBULAR FITTING BEING IN COMPRESSIVELY GRIPPING RELATION WITH UNDERLYING LENGTHS OF SAID FIBERS AND SHEATH AND FUNCTIONING TO CONTINUOUSLY APPLY A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED RADIALLY DIRECTED COMPRESSING FORCE ALONG SUCH LENGTHS OF THE FIBERS SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT LONGITUDINAL SLIPPAGE OF ONE FIBER RELATIVE TO ANOTHER AND RELATIVE TO SAID SHEATH WHILE PERMITTING FREE FLEXING OF SAID SHEALTH AND FIBERS THROUGHOUT SECTIONS THEREOF UNSUPPORTED BY SAID FITTING.