US4894906A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Superconductive joint for multifilament superconducting and method of forming
Assignee: Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC
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Filing: 1987-12-23
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Granted: 1990-01-23
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Expires: 2007-12-23
Abstract
Abstract The ends of two composite superconductors (10a and 10b) having many filaments (12) are joined together to form a joint that is durable, superconducting under proper conditions, and has good shunting capacity. The filaments (12) are exposed by removal of the normal conducting matrices (14a and 14b) from the ends of the composite conductors (10a and 10b) to be joined. The superconductive filaments (12) from each of the composite conductors are inserted together into a sleeve (16) of bimetal construction. The inner surface (18) of the sleeve is made of superconducting material and is metallically bonded to the outer surface (20) of the sleeve which is made of normal conducting material. The bimetal sleeve (16) abuts the matrices (14a and 14b) of the composite conductors (10a and 10b) on one end, and the filaments (12) extend beyond the opposing end of the bimetal sleeve (16). The bimetal sleeve (16) is crimped to form a cold weld joint, and then severed in the region of the crimp to form another cold weld joint. A substantial amount of solder (24) is then applied to cover the remaining bimetal sleeve (16), the neighboring matrices (14a and 14b), and the region of the crimp.
Inventors
- 👤 Yuchi Huang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 06:32
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10N; H10N60/00; H10N60/80; H01; H01R; H01R4/00; H01R4/58; H01R4/68; H01R4/02; H01R4/10; H01R4/18; H01R43/00; H01R43/04; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49002; Y10T29/49014; Y10T29/49117; Y10T29/49194; Y10T29/49201
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
A method of forming a joint of at least two superconductive composite conductors in which a plurality of superconductive filaments are embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the method comprising the steps of (a) removing the normal conducting matrix from along a length of at least two superconductive composite conductors at the ends thereof to expose the superconductive filaments; (b) inserting the exposed superconductive filaments from both conductors together into a sleeve of bimetal material, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconducting material, and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normal conducting material; (c) crimping the sleeve over the superconductive filaments so as to produce a pinch-off region in the sleeve.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
119 words
A method of forming a joint of at least two superconductive composite conductors in which a plurality of superconductive filaments are embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the method comprising the steps of (a) removing the normal conducting matrix from along a length of at least two superconductive composite conductors at the ends thereof to expose the superconductive filaments; (b) inserting the exposed superconductive filaments from both conductors together into a sleeve of bimetal material, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconducting material, and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normal conducting material; (c) crimping the sleeve over the superconductive filaments so as to produce a pinch-off region in the sleeve.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 including the step of severing the sleeve at the pinch-off region.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1 including during the step of inserting the exposed superconducting filaments, abutting one end of the sleeve against the matrices of the composite superconductors to be joined.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 1, 2 or 3 further comprising the step of covering with solder the bimetal sleeve, the pinch-off region, and a portion of the composite conductors at and adjacent to the position where the composite conductors meet the bimetal sleeve.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the superconducting filaments and the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve are composed of the same material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve and the superconductive filaments are composed of niobium titanium alloy.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 in which the steps are performed in a controlled inert gas environment.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve is composed of copper.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve is composed of aluminum.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
133 words
A method of forming a joint of at least two superconductive composite conductors in which a plurality of superconductive filaments are embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the method comprising the steps of: (a) removing the normal conducting matrix from along a length of at least two superconductive composite conductors at the ends thereof to expose the superconductive filaments; (b) inserting the exposed superconductive filaments from both conductors together into a sleeve of bimetal material, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconducting material, and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normal conducting material, the normal metal and the superconducting material comprising the sleeve being metallically bonded; and (c) crimping the sleeve over the superconductive filaments so as to produce a pinch-off region in the sleeve.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
133 words
A method of forming a joint of at least two superconductive composite conductors in which a plurality of superconductive filaments are embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the method comprising the steps of: (a) removing the normal conducting matrix from along a length of at least two superconductive composite conductors at the ends thereof to expose the superconductive filaments; (b) inserting the exposed superconductive filaments from both conductors together into a sleeve of bimetal material, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconducting material, and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normal conducting material, the normal metal and the superconducting material comprising the sleeve being metallically bonded; and (c) crimping the sleeve over the superconductive filaments so as to produce a pinch-off region in the sleeve.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
79 words
The method of claim 10 wherein the bimetal sleeve is formed by a process comprising the steps of: (a) enclosing a large internal core of a superconducting material with a normal conducting metal to form a rod; (b) drawing and extruding the rod through a series of successively smaller dies; and (c) drilling a hole through the center of the internal superconducting core of a size that will accommodate the filaments of the two composite superconductors to be joined.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 10 including the step of severing the sleeve at the pinch-off region.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 10 including during the step of inserting the exposed superconducting filaments, abutting one end of the sleeve against the matrices of the composite superconductors to be joined.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
98 words
A joint joining two composite superconductive conductors, comprising: (a) at least two lengths of superconductive conductors having a plurality of superconductive filaments embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the ends of the superconductive conductors being stripped of the normal conducting matrix in the areas of the joint so as to expose the superconductive filaments; and (b) a bimetal sleeve that is crimped over the exposed superconductive filaments to form a pinch-off region, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconductive material and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normally conducting material.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
98 words
A joint joining two composite superconductive conductors, comprising: (a) at least two lengths of superconductive conductors having a plurality of superconductive filaments embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the ends of the superconductive conductors being stripped of the normal conducting matrix in the areas of the joint so as to expose the superconductive filaments; and (b) a bimetal sleeve that is crimped over the exposed superconductive filaments to form a pinch-off region, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconductive material and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normally conducting material.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
The joint of claim 14 wherein the bimetal sleeve and superconductive filaments are severed at the pinch-off region.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The joint of claim 15 wherein an end of the bimetal sleeve abuts the matrices of the composite superconductors.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
39 words
The joint of claim 14, 15 or 16 further including solder that covers the bimetal sleeve, the pinch-off region, and a portion of superconductive conductors at and adjacent to the position where the superconductive conductors meet the bimetal sleeve.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
The joint of claim 14, 15 or 16 wherein the superconducting filaments and the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve are composed of the same material.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
The joint of claim 14 wherein the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve is composed of niobium titanium alloy.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
17 words
The joint of claim 12 wherein the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve is composed of copper.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
17 words
The joint of claim 14 wherein the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve is composed of aluminum.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
111 words
A joint joining two composite superconductive conductors, comprising: (a) at least two lengths of superconductive conductors having a plurality of superconductive filaments embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the ends of the superconductive conductors being stripped of the normal conducting matrix in the areas of the joint so as to expose the superconductive filaments; and (b) a bimetal sleeve that is crimped over the exposed superconductive filaments to form a pinch-off region, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconducting material and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normally conducting material, the normal metal and the superconducting material comprising the sleeve being metallicaly bonded.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
111 words
A joint joining two composite superconductive conductors, comprising: (a) at least two lengths of superconductive conductors having a plurality of superconductive filaments embedded in a normal conducting matrix, the ends of the superconductive conductors being stripped of the normal conducting matrix in the areas of the joint so as to expose the superconductive filaments; and (b) a bimetal sleeve that is crimped over the exposed superconductive filaments to form a pinch-off region, the inner surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of superconducting material and the outer surface of the bimetal sleeve being composed of normally conducting material, the normal metal and the superconducting material comprising the sleeve being metallicaly bonded.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
18 words
The joint of claim 22 wherein the bimetal sleeve and superconductive filaments are severed at the pinch-off region.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
19 words
The joint of claim 22 wherein an end of the bimetal sleeve abuts the matrices of the composite superconductors.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1993-01-22 | 1993-07-24 | 1994-01-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1997-01-22 | 1997-07-24 | 1998-01-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2001-01-22 | 2001-07-24 | 2002-01-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |