Ball universal joint for wave guides
AssigneeMessrs Elettronica Aster S.r.l.
InventorMario Liguori
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ball universal joint for wave guides comprising a package of plates, each of which having therein a rectangular cross-section hole a quarter-wave length, the plates being compressed on one another by interposing balls separating and restraining the plates and being rotably carried in a rigid framework. Intermediate these plates, a rigid body is positioned and is fast with the framework and provides a curved intermediate step, in which a curved rectangular cross-section hole of average half-wave length is formed. The two end faces of the rigid body lie on planes forming a 90.degree. angle therebetween, so that the axes of the end plates in the plate package form a 90.degree. angle therebetween.
Claims3
A ball universal joint for waveguides comprising:
- a stack of circular plates including end plates on each end of said stack and intermediate plates between said end plates, each of said circular plates having a hole of rectangular cross-section extending therethrough and forming a waveguide step, each of said intermediate plates having a thin peripheral portion with a plurality of cylindrical holes extending therethrough arranged in a circular ring around the axis of its respective intermediate plate, the diameters of said circular rings on adjacent intermediate plates being different from each other;
- a rigid body positioned between two of said intermediate plates and having at least one pair of end surfaces lying in planes at 90.degree. to each other and facing respective ones of said two intermediate plates, said rigid body having at least one curved hole of rectangular cross-section extending between said two end surfaces and forming a curved waveguide step;
- a rigid framework fast with said body and coupled to said end plates to hold said circular plates and said body in stacked compressed relation one on another;
- rings of end balls between said framework and said end plates for axially coupling said framework to said end plates while permitting axial rotation of said circular plates;
- rings of peripheral balls between the outer circular periphery of said circular plates for radially coupling said framework to said circular plates while permitting axial rotation of said circular plates;
- an intermediate plate ball located in each of said cylindrical holes, said intermediate plate balls having substantially the same diameter as said cylindrical holes but having a larger diameter than the thickness of its respective thin peripheral portion;
- and
- at least one rigid ring between adjacent ones of said circular plates, said ring abutting one of said adjacent plates and said intermediate plate balls in the cylindrical holes of the other of said adjacent ones of said circular plates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.