Apparatus and method for producing reinforced plastic composite articles of non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume

Claim 1

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) means for shaping each discrete section into a formable and curable material plug of a desired shape and which material used in the forming of said plug has a consistency to generally retain such shape, and which plug is carried by said string, (e) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforced plastic layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (f) means for wrapping said plug containing composite in a film generally adopting the shape of the layer surrounding at least said portion of said plug to form a film enclosed plug containing composite having a length and where the shape of and volume of material in said composite over its length is not necessarily uniform, (g) means to initiate a cure of said curable matrix and said plug of formable and curable material when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the curable binder and to the plug of material to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bound together to form said reinforced plastic article, so that said article has a first portion with a larger cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion, and (h) means to separate said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 2

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) means for shaping each discrete section into a formable and curable material plug of a desired shape and which material used in the forming of said plug has a consistency to generally retain such shape, and which plug is carried by said string, (e) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforced plastic layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (f) means for wrapping said plug containing composite in a film generally adopting the shape of the layer surrounding at least said portion of said plug to form a film enclosed plug containing composite having a length and where the shape of and volume of material in said composite over its length is not necessarily uniform, (g) means to initiate a cure of said curable matrix and said plug of formable and curable material when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the curable binder and to the plug of material to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bound together to form said reinforced plastic article, so that said article has a first portion with a larger cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion, and (h) means to separate said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 15

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform cross-sectional volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) means for forming each discrete section of the formable and curable material into a plug of desired shape and which material forming said plug has a consistency to generally retain said shape, (e) means for enclosing at least a portion of each of said plugs in a reinforcing filament layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a layer enclosed plug containing composite, (f) means to initiate a cure of said curable binder and a hardening of said plug when said layer and plug are in the desired shape but without fully curing the binder or the plug, such that the composite has a desired length and shape and where the shape and the cross-sectional volume of said composite over said length is not necessarily uniform, (g) a mold to receive the composite during a period of time when the cure of said binder and the plug have been initiated and is progressing but not yet completed, and which mold imparts a final shape to at least said fiber reinforced plastic layer of said composite without substantial flow of said material to form said reinforced plastic article, (h) means associated with said mold to apply a final curing radiation to said binder and said plug while in said mold to advance the cure of the binder and plug to a hardened condition and to thereby cause the binder and the plug to become permanently bonded together, thereby providing a hardened reinforced plastic article, so that said article has a first portion of cross-sectional shape of larger volume than a second adjacent portion, and (i) means to separate said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 16

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform cross-sectional volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) means for forming each discrete section of the formable and curable material into a plug of desired shape and which material forming said plug has a consistency to generally retain said shape, (e) means for enclosing at least a portion of each of said plugs in a reinforcing filament layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a layer enclosed plug containing composite, (f) means to initiate a cure of said curable binder and a hardening of said plug when said layer and plug are in the desired shape but without fully curing the binder or the plug, such that the composite has a desired length and shape and where the shape and the cross-sectional volume of said composite over said length is not necessarily uniform, (g) a mold to receive the composite during a period of time when the cure of said binder and the plug have been initiated and is progressing but not yet completed, and which mold imparts a final shape to at least said fiber reinforced plastic layer of said composite without substantial flow of said material to form said reinforced plastic article, (h) means associated with said mold to apply a final curing radiation to said binder and said plug while in said mold to advance the cure of the binder and plug to a hardened condition and to thereby cause the binder and the plug to become permanently bonded together, thereby providing a hardened reinforced plastic article, so that said article has a first portion of cross-sectional shape of larger volume than a second adjacent portion, and (i) means to separate said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 27

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) a traveling carriage moveable with the string containing the discrete sections thereon and generally at the same rate of speed as the string and discrete sections, (e) a pre-mold carried by said carriage and having a pair of split pre-mold elements adapted to open and close and on certain on such opening and closing movements to temporarily contain and to apply a pre-shape to each of the discrete sections on the string to thereby form a plug, and which plug is formed of a material having a consistency to generally retain such shape, (f) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforced plastic layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (g) means for wrapping said plug containing composite in a film generally adopting the shape of the layer surrounding at least said portion of said plug to form a film enclosed plug containing composite having a length, and where the shape of and volume of material in said composite over its length is not necessarily uniform, (h) a final mold to receive the pre-shaped layer enclosed plug containing composites and having a pair of final split mold elements adapted to temporarily capture each film enclosed composite therebetween and apply a final shape thereto, (i) means operatively associated with said apparatus for curing the curable binder and hardening the plug by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and plug to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together to form a rigid reinforced plastic composite article, so that said article has a first portion with a larger cross-sectional volume and different cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion, and (j) means to separate said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 28

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) a traveling carriage moveable with the string containing the discrete sections thereon and generally at the same rate of speed as the string and discrete sections, (e) a pre-mold carried by said carriage and having a pair of split pre-mold elements adapted to open and close and on certain on such opening and closing movements to temporarily contain and to apply a pre-shape to each of the discrete sections on the string to thereby form a plug, and which plug is formed of a material having a consistency to generally retain such shape, (f) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforced plastic layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (g) means for wrapping said plug containing composite in a film generally adopting the shape of the layer surrounding at least said portion of said plug to form a film enclosed plug containing composite having a length, and where the shape of and volume of material in said composite over its length is not necessarily uniform, (h) a final mold to receive the pre-shaped layer enclosed plug containing composites and having a pair of final split mold elements adapted to temporarily capture each film enclosed composite therebetween and apply a final shape thereto, (i) means operatively associated with said apparatus for curing the curable binder and hardening the plug by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and plug to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together to form a rigid reinforced plastic composite article, so that said article has a first portion with a larger cross-sectional volume and different cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion, and (j) means to separate said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 35

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) a traveling carriage moveable with the string containing the discrete sections thereon and generally at the same rate of speed, (e) a pre-mold carried by said carriage and having a pair of split pre-mold elements adapted to open and close and on certain of such opening and closing movements to temporarily contain and apply a pre-shape to each of the discrete sections on the string to thereby form a plug, and which plug is formed of a material having a consistency to generally retain such shape, (f) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforced plastic layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (g) means to initiate a cure of said curable binder and said formable and curable material when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape to form said reinforced plastic article, (h) a final mold to receive the pre-shaped layer enclosed plug containing composites and having a pair of final split mold elements adapted to temporarily capture each film enclosed composite therebetween and apply a final shape thereto, and (i) means operatively associated with said apparatus for curing the curable binder and hardening the plug by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and plug to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together to form a rigid reinforced plastic composite article simultaneously with finally foming the article in the final mold, so that said article has a first portion with a different cross-sectional volume and a different cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion.

Claim 36

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) a traveling carriage moveable with the string containing the discrete sections thereon and generally at the same rate of speed, (e) a pre-mold carried by said carriage and having a pair of split pre-mold elements adapted to open and close and on certain of such opening and closing movements to temporarily contain and apply a pre-shape to each of the discrete sections on the string to thereby form a plug, and which plug is formed of a material having a consistency to generally retain such shape, (f) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforced plastic layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (g) means to initiate a cure of said curable binder and said formable and curable material when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape to form said reinforced plastic article, (h) a final mold to receive the pre-shaped layer enclosed plug containing composites and having a pair of final split mold elements adapted to temporarily capture each film enclosed composite therebetween and apply a final shape thereto, and (i) means operatively associated with said apparatus for curing the curable binder and hardening the plug by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and plug to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together to form a rigid reinforced plastic composite article simultaneously with finally foming the article in the final mold, so that said article has a first portion with a different cross-sectional volume and a different cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion.

Claim 42

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article having a non-uniform shape and a non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a plug of a formable and curable material with a desired shape, (b) means for forming said plug of curable and formable material into a desired shape so that a portion of the final article will have its shape at least partially imparted by said plug, (c) means providing a source of resin matrix impregnated fiber reinforced strands, (d) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug with said strands to form a composite thereof and where at least some of said strands extend beyond said plug, and (e) means for providing a final shape to and curing the matrix in said strands and hardening the plug by simultaneously hardening the plug and the matrix and strands and cause them to become bonded together, to form an article which has one part with a shape imparted by the plug and strands enclosing the plug and another part with a shape imparted substantially only by the strands.

Claim 43

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article having a non-uniform shape and a non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a plug of a formable and curable material with a desired shape, (b) means for forming said plug of curable and formable material into a desired shape so that a portion of the final article will have its shape at least partially imparted by said plug, (c) means providing a source of resin matrix impregnated fiber reinforced strands, (d) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug with said strands to form a composite thereof and where at least some of said strands extend beyond said plug, and (e) means for providing a final shape to and curing the matrix in said strands and hardening the plug by simultaneously hardening the plug and the matrix and strands and cause them to become bonded together, to form an article which has one part with a shape imparted by the plug and strands enclosing the plug and another part with a shape imparted substantially only by the strands.

Claim 51

A method for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said method comprising: (a) providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) forming each of the discrete sections into a plug of a desired shape and which material forming said plug has a consistency to generally retain such shape and which plug is carried by said string, (e) enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforcement layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (f) wrapping said plug containing composites in a film generally adopting the shape of the layer surrounding at least said portion of each said plug to form a film enclosed plug containing composite having a length and where the shape of and volume of material in each said film enclosed composite over said length is not necessarily uniform, (g) initiating a cure of said curable binder and said plugs of formable and curable material by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and the plugs to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape, to thereby form a reinforced plastic article with a first portion having a different cross-sectional shape and cross-sectional volume than an adjacent second portion, and (h) separating said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 52

A method for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said method comprising: (a) providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) forming each of the discrete sections into a plug of a desired shape and which material forming said plug has a consistency to generally retain such shape and which plug is carried by said string, (e) enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforcement layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (f) wrapping said plug containing composites in a film generally adopting the shape of the layer surrounding at least said portion of each said plug to form a film enclosed plug containing composite having a length and where the shape of and volume of material in each said film enclosed composite over said length is not necessarily uniform, (g) initiating a cure of said curable binder and said plugs of formable and curable material by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and the plugs to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape, to thereby form a reinforced plastic article with a first portion having a different cross-sectional shape and cross-sectional volume than an adjacent second portion, and (h) separating said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 60

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) means for shaping each discrete section into a formable and curable material plug of a desired shape and which material used in the forming of said plug has a consistency to generally retain such shape, and which plug is carried by said string, (e) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforcing layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof and which composite has a length and where the shape of and volume of material in said composite over its length is not necessarily uniform, and (f) means to initiate a cure of said curable matrix and said plug of formable and curable material when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the curable binder and to the plug of material to simulaneously harden same and cause them to become bound together to form said reinforced plastic article, so that said article has a first position with a larger cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion.

Claim 61

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section becomes a plug which will remain in and become part of a final reinforced plastic article, (d) means for shaping each discrete section into a formable and curable material plug of a desired shape and which material used in the forming of said plug has a consistency to generally retain such shape, and which plug is carried by said string, (e) means for enclosing at least a portion of said plug in a fiber reinforcing layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof and which composite has a length and where the shape of and volume of material in said composite over its length is not necessarily uniform, and (f) means to initiate a cure of said curable matrix and said plug of formable and curable material when said film enclosed composite is in the desired shape by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the curable binder and to the plug of material to simulaneously harden same and cause them to become bound together to form said reinforced plastic article, so that said article has a first position with a larger cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion.

Claim 65

An apparatus for producing plugs of a formable and curable material to be used in fiber reinforced plastic articles and which plugs provide for a non-uniform shape and non-uniform cross-sectional volume over the article length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for depositing the rope of material on said continuous carrier string, (d) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section is capable of being a plug and a part of a reinforced plastic article to be produced, said means for separating comprising a pair of notched cutting blades with the notches located to be rotated with the blades permitting the blades to cut the formable and curable material and the notch prevents cutting of the carrier string, and (e) means for forming each discrete section of the formable and curable material into a plug of desired shape and which material forming said plug has a consistency to generally retain said shape.

Claim 66

An apparatus for producing plugs of a formable and curable material to be used in fiber reinforced plastic articles and which plugs provide for a non-uniform shape and non-uniform cross-sectional volume over the article length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a rope of a formable and curable material in a general shape and size so that it can be used in the production of a reinforced plastic article, (b) means for providing a continuous carrier string to receive and carry and move the formable and curable material, (c) means for depositing the rope of material on said continuous carrier string, (d) means for separating the formable and curable material into a plurality of discrete sections while on said carrier string without severing the carrier string and where each discrete section is capable of being a plug and a part of a reinforced plastic article to be produced, said means for separating comprising a pair of notched cutting blades with the notches located to be rotated with the blades permitting the blades to cut the formable and curable material and the notch prevents cutting of the carrier string, and (e) means for forming each discrete section of the formable and curable material into a plug of desired shape and which material forming said plug has a consistency to generally retain said shape.

Claim 71

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a plurality of individual spaced apart plugs of a formable and curable material on a carrier string and which have a general shape and size so that they can be used in the production of reinforced plastic articles, (b) a traveling carriage moveable with the string containing the plugs thereon and generally at the same rate of speed as the string and plugs, (c) a pre-mold carried by said carriage and having a pair of split pre-mold elements adapted to open and close and on certain of such opening and closing movements to temporarily contain and to apply a pre-shape to each of the plugs on the carrier string and which plugs are formed of a material having a consistency to generally retain such shape, (d) means for enclosing at least a portion of each of said plugs in a fiber reinforcing layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (e) a final mold to receive the pre-shaped plug containing composites and having a pair of final split mold elements adapted to temporarily capture each composite therebetween and apply a final shape thereto, (f) means operatively associated with said apparatus for curing the curable binder and hardening the plugs by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and plugs to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together to form rigid reinforced plastic composite articles, so that each said article has a first portion with a larger cross-sectional volume and different cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion, and (g) means to separate each said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.

Claim 72

An apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced plastic article which may have a non-uniform shape and non-uniform volume over its length, said apparatus comprising: (a) means for providing a plurality of individual spaced apart plugs of a formable and curable material on a carrier string and which have a general shape and size so that they can be used in the production of reinforced plastic articles, (b) a traveling carriage moveable with the string containing the plugs thereon and generally at the same rate of speed as the string and plugs, (c) a pre-mold carried by said carriage and having a pair of split pre-mold elements adapted to open and close and on certain of such opening and closing movements to temporarily contain and to apply a pre-shape to each of the plugs on the carrier string and which plugs are formed of a material having a consistency to generally retain such shape, (d) means for enclosing at least a portion of each of said plugs in a fiber reinforcing layer impregnated with a curable binder to form a plug containing composite thereof, (e) a final mold to receive the pre-shaped plug containing composites and having a pair of final split mold elements adapted to temporarily capture each composite therebetween and apply a final shape thereto, (f) means operatively associated with said apparatus for curing the curable binder and hardening the plugs by simultaneously applying a curing energy to the binder and plugs to simultaneously harden same and cause them to become bonded together to form rigid reinforced plastic composite articles, so that each said article has a first portion with a larger cross-sectional volume and different cross-sectional shape than an adjacent second portion, and (g) means to separate each said reinforced plastic article from said continuous carrier string and other reinforced plastic articles which may be formed on and carried by said string.