Butt welding optical fibres - using an elliptical mirror with lamp at one focus and fibres at the other

摘要

Appts. for butt welding two pieces of optical fibre comprises (1) appts. for accurately aligning the pieces, (2) appts. for bringing the pieces up against each other and holding them in place under a sufficient contact pressure and (3) appts. for heating the contact zone to effect the welding, comprising means for concentrating optical energy consisting of an elliptical mirror and a lamp arranged at the object focal point of the mirror while the contact zone is at the image focal point of the same mirror. For joining fibres of the order of a kilometer in length to form lengths of the order of 100 km. and at repair broken cable fibres.