Apparatus for curing a fiber having at least two fiber coating curing stages separated by a cooling stage

摘要

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for curing a coated fiber, comprising two fiber coating curing stages separated by a cooling stage. One of the two fiber coating curing stages responds to the coated fiber, for providing a partially cured coated fiber. The other of the two fiber coating curing stages responds to a cooled partially cured coated fiber, for further providing a cured coated fiber. The cooling stage is arranged between the two fiber coating curing stages and responds to the partially cured coated fiber, for providing the cooled partially cured coated fiber. In operation, the present invention does not seek to prevent the coatings from heating up during the cure process on fiber optic draw towers. Rather, the present invention seeks to irradiate the coating material on the fiber, thus initiating the cure reaction, then actively remove the heat generated during the majority of the cure process, and irradiate the material again to complete the reaction at a fastest possible rate. One advantage of the present invention is that the cure of the coated fiber can be accomplished to its full extent and with fewer UV lamps than otherwise necessary in the known prior art approaches.