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US 2014/0272247 A1Published application
Ribbed balsa
AssigneeMilwaukee Composites, Inc.
InventorsBrian R. Latz, James E. Desing
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ribbed balsa sheet including a plurality of end-grain balsa strips arranged side-by-side to define a sheet plane, with the balsa grain oriented perpendicular to the sheet plane, and a number of reinforced resin ribs, each one of the reinforced resin ribs being arranged between an adjacent pair of the balsa strips to bond together and space apart the balsa strips.
Claims13
A ribbed balsa sheet comprising:
- a plurality of end-grain balsa strips arranged side-by-side to define a sheet plane, with the balsa grain oriented perpendicular to the sheet plane;
- and
- a number of reinforced resin ribs, each one of the reinforced resin ribs being arranged between an adjacent pair of the balsa strips to bond together and space apart the balsa strips.
A composite panel comprising:
- a core including a ribbed balsa sheet having a plurality of reinforced resin ribs;
- and
- first and second resin skins sandwiching the core on upper and lower end grain surfaces thereof, each of the reinforced resin ribs being bonded to both the first and second resin skins such that the first and second resin skins are bonded through the balsa sheet via the reinforced resin ribs.
A method of manufacturing a ribbed balsa sheet, the method comprising:
- stacking a plurality of cross-grain balsa sheets atop one another with a resin layer between each adjacent pair of sheets, all of the cross-grain balsa sheets defining parallel sheet planes;
- curing the resin layers to bond the plurality of cross-grain balsa sheets into a multi-layer cross-grain stack;
- and
- cutting the stack perpendicular to the sheet planes into a plurality of end grain balsa sheets, each having a plurality of end-grain balsa strips separated by reinforced resin ribs.
1 more element
A method of manufacturing a composite panel, the method comprising:
- manufacturing a ribbed balsa sheet including a plurality of reinforced resin ribs;
- sandwiching the ribbed balsa sheet between a first resin skin adjacent a first end-grain side of the ribbed balsa sheet and a second resin skin adjacent a second end-grain side of the ribbed balsa sheet;
- and
- bonding the first and second resin skins together through the reinforced resin ribs of the ribbed balsa sheet.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.