Patent US3801407A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3801407A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Apparatus and method for producing plastic reinforced sheet laminates
Assignee: GOLDSWORTHY ENG Inc
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Filing: 1972-04-14
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Granted: 1974-04-02
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Expires: 1992-04-14
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method for producing reinforced plastic sheet laminates where a plurality of fiber containing webs or sheets are passed into a curable resin matrix, facewise disposed on each other in marginal registration, and then cured by means of a pair of radio frequency curing units disposed on opposite sides of the marginally registered sheets. The laminate is pulled through the apparatus by means of a plurality of clamps which reciprocatively shift in timed relationship to the movement of the cured laminate. The apparatus and method is also useful for laminating reinforced fiber containing webs to opposed flat surfaces of a structural member. The fiber containing webs are introduced into a curable resin matrix and are preheated by means of radio frequency during units prior to contact with the surface of the structural member. Shortly thereafter, the webs are fixed in facewise contact with the structural member where the heating proceeds to an ultimate cure, thereby bonding the fibrous sheets to the structural member. A pair of rotating belts are used to move the laminated structure through the curing area and a plurality of clamps which reciprocatively move in timed relation to the laminate are used to move the laminate through the apparatus.
Inventors
- 👤 W Goldsworthy
- 👤 E Hardesty
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 17:21
CPC Classifications
B; B32; B32B; B32B21/00; B32B21/10; B29; B29C; B29C31/00; B29C35/00; B29C35/02; B29C35/08; B29C35/10; B29C70/00; B29C70/68; B29C70/86; B29C2035/0283; B29C35/0805; B29C2035/0855; B29C2035/0861; B29C35/04; B29C35/045; B32B2260/00; B32B2260/02; B32B2260/021; B32B2260/04; B32B2260/046; B32B2262/00; B32B2262/10; B32B2262/101; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T156/00; Y10T156/12; Y10T156/1348; Y10T156/1365
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
214 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable members, and where at least one of said members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet; said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means at a first station on said apparatus for impregnating at least the filament containing reinforcing sheet with a curable resin matrix, dielectic type precuring means at a second station on said apparatus for precuring the matrix in said filament containing reinforcing sheet with dielectric energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy and microwave energy to a level immediately below the curing point of said matrix, electrode means operatively associated with said dielectric precuring means to establish a dielectric energy region across the laminatable members, means at a third station on said apparatus for bringing each of said members into marginally registered facewise contact, and means at a fourth station on said apparatus to finally cure said members in said marginally registered facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure, said last name means including a pair of continuous belt-like members which engage the exteriorly presented faces of at least two of said laminatable members and retain the same in said marginally registered facewise disposition during the final curing thereof.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
214 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable members, and where at least one of said members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet; said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means at a first station on said apparatus for impregnating at least the filament containing reinforcing sheet with a curable resin matrix, dielectic type precuring means at a second station on said apparatus for precuring the matrix in said filament containing reinforcing sheet with dielectric energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy and microwave energy to a level immediately below the curing point of said matrix, electrode means operatively associated with said dielectric precuring means to establish a dielectric energy region across the laminatable members, means at a third station on said apparatus for bringing each of said members into marginally registered facewise contact, and means at a fourth station on said apparatus to finally cure said members in said marginally registered facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure, said last name means including a pair of continuous belt-like members which engage the exteriorly presented faces of at least two of said laminatable members and retain the same in said marginally registered facewise disposition during the final curing thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apParatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the means for moving the laminatable members through the apparatus comprises a pair of traveling alternately engageable and releasable clamp-like members.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the apparatus comprises cutting members which are located with respect to the moving rigid laminate structure in order to remove the edges of the laminate structure in the direction of movement of the structure.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
63 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the apparatus comprises a cutting member which is located with respect to the moving rigid laminate structure in order to cut the laminate structure transverse to the direction of movement thereof into a series of discrete laminate sections, said last named cutting member moving both longitudinally and transversally with respect to the laminate structure.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
94 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the apparatus comprises first cutting members which are located with respect to the moving rigid laminate structure in order to remove the edges of the laminate structure in the direction of movement of the laminate structure, a second cutting member is located with respect to the moving laminate structure in order to cut the laminate structure transverse to the direction of movement thereof into a series of discrete laminate sections, said second cutting member moving both longitudinally and transversally with respect to the laminate structure.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that said precuring means comprises a dielectric precuring means including a pair of electrodes which are disposed on opposite sides of the laminatable members.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
52 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that first of said laminatable members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet which is initially flexible, and a second of said laminatable members is a rigid panel so that the filament containing reinforcing sheet is laminated to a flat surface of said rigid panel.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
83 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that first of said laminatable members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet which is initially flexible, and a second of said laminatable members is a rigid panel so that the filament containing reinforcing sheet is laminated to a flat surface of said rigid panel, and a third laminatable member in the form of a filament containing reinforcing sheet which is initially flexible is impregnated and laminated to the opposed flat surface of said rigid panel.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that said two named laminatable members are both filament containing reinforcing sheets which are initially flexible.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that said dielectric precuring means is operable with energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy within the frequency range of 13 to 100 megahertz and microwave energy within the frequency range of 1,500 to 25,000 megahertz.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the means to finally cure said members relies upon the use of hot fluid.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
155 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable members, and where at least one of said members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet; said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means at a first station on said apparatus for impregnating at least the filament containing reinforcing sheet with a curable resin matrix, dielectric type precuring means at a second station on said apparatus for precuring the matrix in said filament containing reinforcing sheet with dielectric energy to a level immediately below the curing point of said matrix, said precuring means including a pair of electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the laminatable members, means at a third station on said apparatus for bringing each oF said members into facewise contact, and means at a fourth station on said apparatus to finally cure said members in said facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
155 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable members, and where at least one of said members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet; said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means at a first station on said apparatus for impregnating at least the filament containing reinforcing sheet with a curable resin matrix, dielectric type precuring means at a second station on said apparatus for precuring the matrix in said filament containing reinforcing sheet with dielectric energy to a level immediately below the curing point of said matrix, said precuring means including a pair of electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the laminatable members, means at a third station on said apparatus for bringing each oF said members into facewise contact, and means at a fourth station on said apparatus to finally cure said members in said facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
216 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable members, and where at least one of said members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet; said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means for impregnating at least the filament containing reinforcing sheet with a curable resin matrix, precuring means associated with said apparatus for precuring the matrix in said filament containing reinforcing sheet to a level immediately below the curing point of said matrix, means associated with said apparatus for bringing each of said laminatable members into facewise contact, final curing means to finally cure said laminatable members in said facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure, said final curing means including a pair of continuous belt-like members which engage the exteriorly presented faces of at least two of said laminatable members and retain the same in said facewise disposition during the final curing thereof, said continuous belt-like members being spaced apart from each other to define an elongated slot to receive the laminatable members, and means operatively associated with each of said belt-like members to shift each of said belt-like members toward and away from each other to variably adjust the size of said elongated slot in conformance with the thickness of the laminatable members.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
216 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable members, and where at least one of said members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet; said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means for impregnating at least the filament containing reinforcing sheet with a curable resin matrix, precuring means associated with said apparatus for precuring the matrix in said filament containing reinforcing sheet to a level immediately below the curing point of said matrix, means associated with said apparatus for bringing each of said laminatable members into facewise contact, final curing means to finally cure said laminatable members in said facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure, said final curing means including a pair of continuous belt-like members which engage the exteriorly presented faces of at least two of said laminatable members and retain the same in said facewise disposition during the final curing thereof, said continuous belt-like members being spaced apart from each other to define an elongated slot to receive the laminatable members, and means operatively associated with each of said belt-like members to shift each of said belt-like members toward and away from each other to variably adjust the size of said elongated slot in conformance with the thickness of the laminatable members.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
52 words
The apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that first of said laminatable members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet which is initially flexible, and a second of said laminatable members is a rigid panel so that the filament containing reinforcing sheet is laminated to a flat surface of said rigid panel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
83 words
The apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that first of said laminatable members is a filament containing reinforcing sheet which is initially flexible, and a second of said laminatable members is a rigid panel so that the filament containing reinforcing sheet is laminated to a flat surface of said rigid panel, and a third laminatable member in the form of a filament containing reinforcing sheet which is initially flexible is impregnated and laminated to the opposed flat surface of said rigid panel.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that said two named laminatable members are both filament containing reinforcing sheets which are initially flexible.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that said precuring means comprises a dielectric precuring means operable with energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy and microwave energy.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
126 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable filament containing reinforcing sheet members, said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means associated with said apparatus for impregnating both of the filament containing reinforcing sheet members with a curable resin matrix, means associated with said apparatus for bringing each of said sheet members into facewise contact, and curing means associated with said apparatus to completely cure said sheet members in said facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure, said last name means including a pair of continuous belt-like members which engage the exteriorly presented faces of at least two of said laminatable members and retain the same in said facewise disposition during the curing thereof.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
126 words
An apparatus for producing a reinforced sheet laminated structure comprised of at least two laminatable filament containing reinforcing sheet members, said apparatus comprising means for moving said laminatable members through said apparatus, means associated with said apparatus for impregnating both of the filament containing reinforcing sheet members with a curable resin matrix, means associated with said apparatus for bringing each of said sheet members into facewise contact, and curing means associated with said apparatus to completely cure said sheet members in said facewise contact into a rigid laminate structure, said last name means including a pair of continuous belt-like members which engage the exteriorly presented faces of at least two of said laminatable members and retain the same in said facewise disposition during the curing thereof.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 18 further characterized in that said curing means comprises a dielectric curing means operable with energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy and microwave energy.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
50 words
The apparatus of claim 18 further characterized in that said curing means comprises a dielectrIc curing means operable with energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy within the frequency range of 13 to 100 megahertz and microwave energy within the frequency range of 1,500 to 25,000 megahertz.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 18 further characterized in that said apparatus comprises a dielectric precuring means operable with energy selected from the class consisting of radio frequency energy and microwave energy and that the apparatus comprises final curing means to finally cure said members.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-04-01 | 1977-10-01 | 1978-04-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-04-01 | 1981-10-01 | 1982-04-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-04-01 | 1985-10-01 | 1986-04-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |