Apparatus for bend testing elongated specimens

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR BEND TESTING OF ELONGATED METAL SPECIMENS COMPRISING HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED RECTILINEAR SUPPORT MEANS, FRAME MEANS INCLUDING TWO SEGMENTS POSITIONED FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A CENTRALLY DISPOSED HINGE MEANS, SPECIMEN SUPPORT MEMBERS MOUNTED ON THE FRAME MEANS IN FIXED POSITIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE HINGE MEANS ABOVE AND ON EITHER SIDE OF THE HINGE MEANS, THE SPECIMEN SUPPORT MEMBERS HAVING A CURVILINEAR SURFACE FOR CONTACTING A TEST SPECIMEN DURING BENDING, ROTATABLE ROLLER MEMBERS MOUNTED ON THE FRAME MEANS IN FIXED POSITIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE HINGE MEANS BELOW AND ON EITHER SIDE OF THE HINGE MEANS IN CONTACT WITH THE RECTILINEAR SUPPORT MEANS, PLUNGER MEANS HAVING A CURVED SPECIMEN CONTACT SURFACE, AND MEANS INDEPENDENT OF THE FRAME MEANS FOR FORCING THE PLUNGER MEANS AGAINST A SPECIMEN MIDWAY BETWEEN THE SPECIMEN SUPPORT MEMBERS; THE HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED RECTILINEAR SUPPORTING MEANS BEING LOCATED TO MAINTAIN THE ROLLER MEMBERS IN HORIZONTALLY COPLANAR RELATIONSHIP DURING MOVEMENT OF THE HINGE MEANS TOWARD THE SUPPORTING SURFACE CAUSING THE ROLLER MEMBERS TO MOVE IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AND THE SPECIMEN SUPPORT MEMBERS TO MOVE IN A DIRECTION TOWARD EACH OTHER WITH THEIR CURVILINEAR SURFACES SUPPORTING LONGITUDINAL ENDS OF A SPECIMEN DURING BEND TESTING.