| 摘要 |
<p>A vacuum chamber (10) is provided with a pair of seals (66,68) to enable a fibre (60) to be continuously supplied into and removed from the vacuum chamber (10) for application of a coating. The seals (66,68) comprise a first chamber (74) which is supplied with argon and a second chamber (76) which is evacuated by a pump. The first chamber (74) is connected to atmosphere by a first hypodermic tube (116), the first chamber (74) is connected to the second chamber (76) by a second hypodermic tube (124) and the second chamber (76) is connected to the interior of the vacuum chamber (10) by a third hypodermic tube (134). The hypodermic tubes (116,124,134) are coaxial and are telescoped together. The fibre (60) is arranged to pass sequentially through the hypodermic tubes (116,124,134) into the vacuum chamber (10). The argon supplied to the first chamber (74) reduces the air flow down the hypodermic tubes. The seal maintains the pressure in the vacuum chamber (10) and does not contaminate the fibre (60). <IMAGE></p> |
