US 10,507,519 B2Granted

Method of casting hollow vacuum spheres

OwnerJean-Paul Ciardulloinventor

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Abstract

Devices and methods are disclosed for the centrifugal casting of spheres, particularly hollow spheres containing low air pressure. Molten or self-hardening casting material is introduced into a hollow spherical mold and the mold made to rotate about two axes intersecting at the center of the mold. The resulting centrifugal forces cause the casting material to be evenly distributed about the inner surface of the mold. The casting material is hardened and the resulting sphere is removed from the mold. One or more valves may be employed to transport fluent materials into and out of the mold. If gas is removed from a partially-filled mold prior to casting, the product will be a hollow sphere having an interior pressure less than ambient. Spheres made according to the present invention have a wide range of uses including insulation and bearing balls.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A method of casting hollow spheroids with a casting apparatus, wherein said hollow spheroids have an internal pressure below an ambient pressure environment surrounding said casting apparatus, said method comprising:

(a) providing said casting apparatus as comprising a plurality of molds each having a hollow spherical interior, and wherein each of said molds has an inner wall surface, wherein said molds are driveably coupled along a straight line, with the centers of each of said hollow spherical interiors lying on a primary axis,
(b) introducing casting material into said hollow spherical interiors of said molds,
(c) evacuating gas from said hollow spherical interiors of said molds,
(d) simultaneously centrifugally spinning each of said molds about said primary axis, while also simultaneously centrifugally spinning each of said molds about a secondary axis passing through the center of each of said molds' hollow spherical interiors perpendicular to said primary axis, until said casting material has been spread about said inner wall surface of each of said molds, wherein during said centrifugal spinning step a centrifugal force at said inner wall surface of each of said molds reaches at least 10 Gs,
(e) causing said casting material to harden into hollow spheroids capable of holding their spheroidal shape in the ambient pressure environment outside of said casting apparatus, and,
(f) removing the resulting spheroids from said molds.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/254,920Filed 1 Sep 2016 · continuation
Priority: 10 Jun 2011
Published: US 2016/0368044 A122 Dec 2016
Granted: 17 Dec 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B22D 13/04
Centrifugal casting; Casting by using centrifugal force: of shallow solid or hollow bodies, e.g. wheels or rings, in moulds rotating around their…
B22D 23/06
Casting processes not provided for in groups B22D1/00 - B22D21/00: melting-down metal, e.g. metal particles, in the mould
B22D 27/15
Treating the metal in the mould while it is molten or ductile ; Pressure or vacuum casting: by using vacuum
B29C 41/06
Rotational or centrifugal casting, i.e. coating the inside of a mould by rotating the mould: about two or more axes

Family

Application13/134,575Parent of this continuation · filed 10 Jun 2011
US 2016/0368044 A1Pre-grant publication · published 22 Dec 2016
US 9,457,398 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2012/0312494 A1Published application
US 10,507,519 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.