# US 12,761,087 B2 · Non-contacting temperature measurement system for automated fiber placement

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- Number: US 12,761,087 B2
- Document ID: US12761087B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/898,708
- Filed: 2022-08-30
- Published: 2023-03-02
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2021-08-31
- Assignees: University of South Carolina
- Applicants: University of South Carolina
- Inventors: Andrew D. Anderson; Christopher Sacco
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12761087B2

## CPC

- G01K 7/36: using magnetic elements, e.g. magnets, coils (magnetic elements per se H01F)
- B29C 70/54: Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations {, e.g. feeding or storage of prepregs or SMC after impregnation or during ageing}
- B29C 70/382: {Automated fiber placement [AFP]}
- B29K 2307/04: Carbon
- G01K: MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (radiation pyrometry G01J5/00)
- B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00)
- B29K: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR {MOULDS, } REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS

## Abstract

Described herein are devices, methods and systems for measuring temperature in Automated Fiber Placement materials without contacting same via an antennae to measure current induced within an electromagnetic coil to accurately measure the temperature of the materials employed in the Automated Fiber Placement process.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for measuring temperatures of materials during a high-temperature composite process comprising:
measuring a temperature of a material being heated in a process while the material is being placed by an Automated Fiber Placement machine via:
inducing a current within the material via an electromagnetic coil within a carbon fiber material being placed by the Automated Fiber Placement machine;
placing at least one antennae at a distance from the material and at a predetermined distance along the material from the electromagnetic coil;
receiving a signal generated by the current with the at least one antennae positioned along the material from the electromagnetic coil, the signal being generated by current carried along the material;
wherein the at least one antennae is coupled to a device for measuring a strength of the current via the signal generated by the current, the device comprising an ammeter or galvanometer coupled to the at least one antennae;
processing the signal generated by the current via a micro-controller device to interpret the strength of the current, wherein the strength of the current is proportional to a distance the current must travel through the material between the electromagnetic coil and the at least one antennae, wherein a strength of the signal generated by the current indicates the temperature of the material in the process; and
all performed without physically contacting the material being measured for temperature, while the material is being heated with a heating element during an Automated Fiber Placement process.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the material being measured is processed by the Automated Fiber Placement machine and comprises a carbon fiber tow being placed on a mold.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic coil at least partially surrounds the material while the at least one antennae is positioned at the predetermined distance along the material from the electromagnetic coil.