Thermally Resistant Convoluted Sleeve and Method of Construction Thereof
AssigneeFederal-Mogul Powertrain LLC
InventorMichael J. Sherwin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermally insulative, reflective convoluted sleeve and method of construction thereof is provided. The sleeve includes a resilient inner layer, an outer layer and a resilient intermediate layer sandwiched between the inner and outer layers. The inner layer has an inner surface exposed to an inner cavity of the sleeve and the outer layer has an outer reflective surface exposed to the surrounding environment. The intermediate layer is an impervious sheet material and is sandwiched in abutment with the inner and outer layers. The inner, outer and intermediate layers are convoluted to provide the sleeve with enhanced thermal protection properties and flexibility.
Claims21
A thermally insulative, reflective sleeve for protecting a member against exposure to heat, comprising:
- a resilient tubular inner layer having an inner surface exposed to a cavity of the sleeve;
- a tubular outer layer having an outer reflective surface exposed to the surrounding environment;
- a resilient tubular intermediate layer constructed of an impervious sheet material sandwiched between said inner and outer layers;
- and
- said inner, outer and intermediate layers being convoluted to provide the sleeve with an enhanced flexibility to be routed over meandering paths.
A method of constructing a thermally insulative, reflective convoluted sleeve, comprising:
- applying a resilient intermediate layer constructed of an impervious sheet to a resilient inner layer to form a tubular configuration with an inner surface of the inner layer being exposed to a cavity of the sleeve;
- applying an outer layer about the intermediate layer to form the tubular configuration having the intermediate layer sandwiched between the inner and outer layers with the outer layer having an outer reflective surface exposed to the surrounding environment;
- and
- forming convolutes in the inner, intermediate and outer layers to provide the tubular configuration with an enhanced flexibility.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.