US Patent 7622314 - Manufacture of CNT filament light bulb

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7622314.html

In the past few years their has been interest by researchers in China in carbon nanotube based filaments for enhancing the lifespans of light bulbs. This patent from Brother International teaches a method to facilitate manufacturing of CNT filament light bulbs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of making a carbon nanotube structure, the method comprising:

forming a plurality of substantially aligned carbon nanotubes on a substrate;

contacting the carbon nanotubes on the substrate with a polymer;

forming a solid composition from the carbon nanotubes and the polymer on the substrate;

removing at least a portion of the solid composition from the substrate;

shaping the removed portion of the solid composition into a filament while substantially retaining alignment of the carbon nanotubes within the solid composition;

removing at least a portion of the polymer after shaping the solid composition into the filament, wherein the filament retains its shape;

coupling opposite ends of the filament to electrically conductive leads, and disposing the filament in a sealed envelope to form a light bulb.