Method for making an abraded optical fiber illumination means
First Claim
1. A method of making a decorative optical fiber light display comprising the steps of:
- surrounding an incoherent bundle of optical fibers with a tubing;
creating at least one distortion aperture in the tubing;
damaging at least one optical fiber of the incoherent bundle; and
illuminating the incoherent bundle with a light source such that a light transmission through the incoherent bundle is distorted where the at least one optical fiber was damaged, resulting in a decorative lighting effect.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An incoherent bundle of optical fibers surrounded by a tubing are selectively damaged to create a decorative lighting effect. With the optical fibers inside the tubing, the tubing is periodically partially cut, abraded, poked or otherwise worked so that damage to the optical fibers can be caused that creates numerous decorative lights that are spaced in relation to each other. In a first preferred embodiment, a distortion aperture is abraded, cut, poked or melted for the purpose of exposing the bundle to a tool that can be applied through the aperture. The tool, which may be the same tool used to create the distortion aperture, is worked against at least one of the optical fibers in the bundle such that at least some cladding is damaged, resulting in a distortion of the light transmission of the bundle. Some or all of the internally reflected light in the waveguide is allowed to escape, depending on the extent of the damage. The distortion aperture may be used to direct light, especially where the tubing material is opaque. The randomness of the damage means that some fibers may lose a considerable amount of their light through a distortion aperture, and other fibers may transmit substantially all of their light to a cut end. This randomness of light intensities allows for a less precise method because the light emanating from adjacent distortion apertures will never be identical, therefore no specific intensity is expected when viewing numerous tiny lights that form a soft lighting effect.
28 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of making a decorative optical fiber light display comprising the steps of:
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surrounding an incoherent bundle of optical fibers with a tubing;
creating at least one distortion aperture in the tubing;
damaging at least one optical fiber of the incoherent bundle; and
illuminating the incoherent bundle with a light source such that a light transmission through the incoherent bundle is distorted where the at least one optical fiber was damaged, resulting in a decorative lighting effect. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of making a decorative optical fiber light display comprising the steps of:
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surrounding an incoherent bundle of optical fibers with a tubing;
crushing at least one section of the tubing enough to damage at least one optical fiber of the incoherent bundle; and
illuminating the incoherent bundle with a light source such that the light transmission through the incoherent bundle is distorted at or near the at least one damaged optical fiber, resulting in a decorative lighting effect. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A decorative optical fiber light display comprising:
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at least one incoherent bundle of optical fibers that is substantially contained inside of a length of tubing, each optical fiber of the at least one incoherent bundle being characterized by a core and a cladding;
at least one distortion aperture in the tubing;
damage to the cladding of at least one of the optical fibers;
a light source at a first end of the at least one incoherent bundle; and
wherein a light transmission through the at least one incoherent bundle at least partially escapes where there is damage to cladding, resulting in a decorative lighting effect. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification