Patent ID: 6554938
Filing Date: 2003-04-29
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
A method of manufacturing an over-coated optical fiber comprising:feeding an arrangement comprising a plurality of optical fiber elements arranged in parallel to an overcoating device, said optical fiber elements each comprising a coated glass fiber; applying over-coating to the arrangement of said optical fiber elements; and taking up the over-coated optical fiber; wherein a feeding speed of said optical fiber elements to the over-coating device which applies said over-coating to said optical fiber elements is larger than a take-up speed of said over-coated optical fiber so that longitudinal compression strain is imparted to the glass fibers, and wherein the feeding speed of each of the optical fiber elements to the over-coating device is a function of the position of the optical fiber element relative to the other optical fiber elements in the arrangement, with the speeds at which the respective optical fiber elements are fed to the over-coating device increasing from a central position within said arrangement toward outer positions within said arrangement.