Radome and method of making same

Claim 2

A radome which comprises a continuous sheet of cloth providing a shell having a generally conical slope, a plurality of radially inwardly extending ribs, each provided by a fold in said sheet which extends radially inward from the surface of said shell and is folded back 180* upon itself and then extends radially outwardly to said surface, said ribs reinforcing said shell for improving the structural rigidity thereof and the electromagnetic wave transmissively of said radome, and said cloth being impregnated with hardened resin so as to be selfsustaining.

Claim 3

The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said shell is made up of a plurality of said continuous sheets each adjoining another to provide a different segment of said shell, the adjoining walls of said segments each being provided by a single thickness of said cloth extending radially inwardly of said sheet to the same extent as said fold, the single thickness adjoining walls as joined together providing additional ribs of said shell.

Claim 4

The invention as set forth in claim 2 further comprising a generally conical-shaped outer shell of hardened resin impregnated cloth, the internal surface of said outer shell being of essentially the same shape and dimensions as the external surface of said internally ribbed shell, said internally ribbed shell being disposed within said outer shell with its external surface juxtaposed secured to the internal surface of said outer shell.

Claim 5

The invention as set Forth in claim 3 wherein said ribbed and outer shells are laminated to each other at their juxtaposed surfaces.

Claim 8

The invention as set forth in claim 5 wherein said sheet is impregnated with resin prior to stiffening.

Claim 9

The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein said sheet is of fiber glass material.

Claim 10

The invention as set forth in claim 5 wherein said sector-shaped members have sides which radially extend from the curved surface over which said sheet is laid, one of said sides having a notch in the edge thereof which is formed with said curved surface, which notch forms a shoulder at a predetermined distance from said curved surface, and wherein said folding step is accomplished by laying said sheet downwardly into said notch, bending said sheet upwardly to form the fold with the bottom of said fold extending longitudinally along said shoulder, thereby having two thicknesses of said sheet in said notch, placing the unnotched side of another of said sector-shaped members in juxtaposition with said notched member in which said fold is formed so that the curved surfaces of said sector-shaped members are contiguous and continuous, bending said sheet laterally over said curved surface of said other sector-shaped member, then repeating the foregoing steps with said other sector-shaped members and said several additional sector-shaped members until said several ribs are formed.

Claim 11

The invention as set forth in claim 8 wherein said sheet is formed into a segmental portion of said radome, and including the steps of securing a plurality of said segmental portions together along their radially extending folded sides thereof to form a complete surface of revolution.

Claim 12

The invention as set forth in claim 9 further comprising the steps of laying a sheet of resin-impregnated material into a mold having the shape of said radome, placing said completed surface of revolution provided by said ribbed segmental portions within said mold so that its outer surface is in juxtaposition with said resin-impregnated sheet, and laminating said resin-impregnated sheet and said ribbed portion together.

Claim 13

The invention as set forth in claim 10 including the step performed prior to said step of placing said ribbed portion into said mold of inserting a helically band of yieldable material into said mold, applying spring pressure to urge said band against said sheet, and rotating said band to squeegee any excess resin from said sheet and conform it to the shape of said mold.