US4925740A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hollow metal sphere filled stabilized skin structures and method of making
Assignee: Rohr Inc
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Filing: 1989-07-28
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Granted: 1990-05-15
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Expires: 2009-07-28
Abstract
Abstract A high strength, light weight stabilized skin structure having spaced skin sheets and a plurality of hollow metal spheres filling the space between the skins. The spheres and skins are bonded together, resulting in a unitary structure. The spheres typically have outside diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch, with tall thicknesses of about 0.0005 to 0.005 inch. Spheres of different sizes may be used, with smaller or heavier wall thickness spheres in high load areas, such as insert attachment points, and larger spheres in lightly loaded areas. The spheres preferably have a surface coating of a brazing material and are bonded together and to the skins by furnace brazing.
Inventors
- 👤 Brian Norris
- 👤 Francis J. Gojny
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 04:50
CPC Classifications
B; B22; B22F; B22F3/00; B22F3/10; B22F3/11; B22F3/1103; B22F3/1112; B22F1/00; B22F1/06; B22F1/065; B22F1/0655; B22F2998/00; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/12; Y10T428/12014; Y10T428/12021; Y10T428/12028; Y10T428/12063; Y10T428/12069; Y10T428/12097; Y10T428/12181; Y10T428/12458; Y10T428/29; Y10T428/2982; Y10T428/2991
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
High strength, light weight, stabilized skin structures which comprise: two spaced apart metal skins; and a plurality of hollow metal spheres having diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch substantially filling the space between said metal skins; said spheres having outside diameters varying from larger diameters in selected low load areas, through medium diameters in selected average load areas to relatively smaller diameters in selected high load areas and said spheres being bonded together at substantially all points of contact between adjacent spheres and between spheres and skins.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
89 words
High strength, light weight, stabilized skin structures which comprise: two spaced apart metal skins; and a plurality of hollow metal spheres having diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch substantially filling the space between said metal skins; said spheres having outside diameters varying from larger diameters in selected low load areas, through medium diameters in selected average load areas to relatively smaller diameters in selected high load areas and said spheres being bonded together at substantially all points of contact between adjacent spheres and between spheres and skins.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
88 words
High strength, light weight, stabilized skin structures which comprise: two spaced apart metal skins; and a plurality of hollow metal spheres having diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch substantially filling the space between said metal skins; said spheres having a wall thickness which varies from relatively thin in selected low load areas through medium thickness in selected average load areas to relatively thick in selected high load areas and being bonded together at substantially all points of contact between adjacent spheres and between spheres and skins.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
88 words
High strength, light weight, stabilized skin structures which comprise: two spaced apart metal skins; and a plurality of hollow metal spheres having diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch substantially filling the space between said metal skins; said spheres having a wall thickness which varies from relatively thin in selected low load areas through medium thickness in selected average load areas to relatively thick in selected high load areas and being bonded together at substantially all points of contact between adjacent spheres and between spheres and skins.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The structure according to claim 1 wherein the wall thickness of said hollow metal spheres is from about 0.005 to 0.0005 inch.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The structure according to claim 1 wherein said spheres are formed from a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, aluminum, Inconel, aluminum-lithium, aluminum-ironlithium, nickel-aluminum and mixtures or alloys thereof.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The structure according to claim 1 wherein said spheres are sintered together and to said skins.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
The structure according to claim 1 wherein said spheres as introduced between said skins have an outer surface coating of a brazing material and said spheres are bonded together and to said skins by brazing.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The structure according to claim 6 wherein said coating has a thickness of from about 0.0001 to 0.002 inch.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
The structure according to claim 6 wherein said coating comprises a material selected from the group consisting of AMS 4777, 95 wt % zinc-5 wt % aluminum and titanium-copper-nickel.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
The structure according to claim 1 wherein the spacing between said skins varies across said structure.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
92 words
The method of making a high strength, light weight, stabilized skin structure which comprises the steps of: providing two spaced apart metal skins; filling the space between said skins with a plurality of hollow metal spheres having outside diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch, said spheres having different outside diameters in different regions, selected low load regions being filled with relatively large diameter spheres and selected high load regions being filled with relatively small diameter spheres; and bonding said spheres together and to said skins to produce a unity structure.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
92 words
The method of making a high strength, light weight, stabilized skin structure which comprises the steps of: providing two spaced apart metal skins; filling the space between said skins with a plurality of hollow metal spheres having outside diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch, said spheres having different outside diameters in different regions, selected low load regions being filled with relatively large diameter spheres and selected high load regions being filled with relatively small diameter spheres; and bonding said spheres together and to said skins to produce a unity structure.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method according to claim 10 wherein said space is filled with spheres having different wall thicknesses, whereby selected low load regions are filled with spheres having relatively thin walls and selected high load regions are filled with spheres having relatively thick walls.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 10 wherein the wall thicknesses of said hollow metal spheres is from about 0.0005 to 0.005 inch.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 10 wherein said two spaced metal skins are arranged with the space therebetween varying across the structure.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 10 wherein said bonding step is accomplished by sintering.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method according to claim 10 wherein said spheres are formed from a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, aluminum, Inconel, aluminum-lithium, aluminum-ironlithium, nickel-aluminum and mixtures or alloys thereof.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method according to claim 10 including the further step of closing the opening through which the inter-skin space is filled with spheres with a metal sheet and bonding said sheet to said spheres during said bonding step.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method according to claim 10 further including the step of providing a surface layer of brazing material on the outer surface of said spheres and accomplishing said bonding step by heating the filled skins to the brazing temperature.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 17 wherein said coating comprises a material selected from the group consisting of titanium-copper-nickel and 95 wt % zinc 5 wt % aluminum.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 17 wherein said coating has a thickness of from about 0.0001 to 0.002 inch.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
23 words
The structure as defined in claim 18 wherein the wall thickness of said hollow metal spheres is from about 0.0005 to 0.005 inch.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
93 words
The method of making a high strength, light weight, stabilized skin structure which comprises the steps of: providing two spaced apart metal skins; filling the space between said skins with a plurality of hollow metal spheres having outside diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch and said spheres having different wall thicknesses, whereby selected low load regions are filled with spheres having relatively thin walls and selected high load regions are filled with spheres having relatively thick walls; and bonding said spheres together and to said skins to produce a unity structure.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
93 words
The method of making a high strength, light weight, stabilized skin structure which comprises the steps of: providing two spaced apart metal skins; filling the space between said skins with a plurality of hollow metal spheres having outside diameters of from about 0.005 to 0.5 inch and said spheres having different wall thicknesses, whereby selected low load regions are filled with spheres having relatively thin walls and selected high load regions are filled with spheres having relatively thick walls; and bonding said spheres together and to said skins to produce a unity structure.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1993-05-14 | 1993-11-13 | 1994-05-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1997-05-14 | 1997-11-13 | 1998-05-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2001-05-14 | 2001-11-13 | 2002-05-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |