Flexure stiffness testing machine for ultra-thin sheets

Claim 1

A FLEXURE-STIFFNESS TESTING MACHINE FOR ULTRA-THIN ELONGATED SAMPLE SPECIMEN SHEETS COMPRISING, A SUPPORT, VERTICAL GUIDE MEANS FIXED ON SAID SUPPORT, AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL ACTUATOR PLATE CARRIED BY SAID GUIDE MEANS FOR VERTICAL UP AND DOWN PARALLEL MOVEMENTS, A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED SPECIMEN CLAMPING PLATES TILTABLY SUPPORTED ABOVE SAID ACTUATOR PLATE, HAVING TILT AXES DISPOSED FOR TRANSVESE AND ANGULAR ADJUSTMENTS IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE INCLUDING FULLY FLEXIBLE SUPPORTING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT AND DEPENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID SUPPORT ABOVE SAID BLOCKS FOR NORMALLY SUPPORTING SAID BLOCKS IN PREDETERMINED SPACED RELATION TO EACH OTHER ABOVE SAID ACTUATOR PLATE WITH THE TILT AXES THEREOF DISPOSED IN SPACED PARALLEL VERTICAL PLANES NORMAL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID ACTUATOR PLATE, SAID BLOCKS INCLUDING CLAMPING MEANS FOR CLAMPING THE OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF AN ULTRA-THIN ELONGATED SHEET SPECIMEN IN THE BLOCKS TO PROVIDE A PREDETERMINED BENDABLE PORTION THEREOF BETWEEN THE ADJACENT SPACED SIDES OF THE BLOCKS, WEIGHTED BLOCK TILTING ARMS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM THE BLOCKS IN DIRECTIONS AWAY FROM THE SPECIMEN, LOCATED IN PLANES THROUGH THE TILT AXES OF THE BLOCK AND THE CLAPMED ENDS OF THE SPECIMEN, SAID WEIGHT TILTING ARMS HAVING END PORTIONS DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ACTUATOR PLATE FOR LIFTING IMPINGEMENT BY SAID PLATE DURING UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE PLATE TO TILT EACH OF SAID BLOCKS IN ONE DIRECTIONAND LOWER THE ENDS OF SAID WEIGHT TILTING ARMS DURING DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID ACTUATOR PLATE, MEANS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING SAID ACTUATOR PLATE INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID WEIGHT TILTING ARMS, AND MEANS FOR DETERMINING THE ANGULAR RELATION BETWEEN THE CLAMPED ENDS OF THE SPECIMEN AND THE HORIZONTAL DURING TILTING ADJUSTMENTS OF SAID BLOCKS BY SAID PLATE.