US 3,970,495 AGranted

Method of making a tubular shaft of helically wound filaments

AssigneeFiber Science, Inc.

InventorsLarry J. Ashton, Dale P. Abildskov

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Abstract

A tubular member which is ideally suited as a drive shaft for transmitting power from an engine to a remote station such as the drive shaft for a helicopter tail rotor or a remotely mounted propeller or rotor and a method of fabricating said member. The tubular member has a cylindrical body portion and at least one conical end portion with an integral, radial flange upstanding therefrom. The wall of the tubular member is composed of a plastic having embedded therein at least one layer of continuous filaments of fibrous reinforcing material with each layer of such material comprising two adjacent thicknesses of filaments. The filaments are in parallel alignment in each thickness and in diagonal orientation between thicknesses at a first helix angle in the cylindrical body portion and at a second, greater helix angle, in the conical end portion. The radial flange at the end of the tubular member is useful for interconnecting the tubular members to one another and/or to a power source such as an engine or to a working member such as a propeller.

Claims12

Dependent claims

The method for the fabrication of a tubular shaft having a cylindrical center section and opposite radial end flanges secured thereto by frusto-conical fillet sections which comprises:

forming a sheathing of continuous filament wrapping about a mandrel having a cylindrical center section and tapered end sections with removable flange portions by winding filaments of fibrous reinforcing material in a helical path about said mandrel and guiding said filaments in mandrel end-to-end traversing paths to form said sheathing about the mandrel cylindrical center section in a plurality of layers of helically wound filaments thereon at a first helix angle and guiding said windings radially inwardly about the mandrel tapered end sections to form said frusto-conical fillet sections of said sheathing at a greater helix angle and radially outwardly in a chordal path about said flange portions, thereafter reversing the path of said filaments about said flange portions so that said filaments are applied in layers comprising two adjacent thicknesses of filaments in parallel alignment in each thickness and in diagonal orientation between thicknesses;
embedding said layers of wound filaments in a bonding resin;
curing said bonding resin to cement said sheathing into a rigid shaft member;
cutting said cured sheathing about said flange portions of said mandrel;
and
removing said flange portions to form a tubular shaft having a cylindrical center section and opposite end flanges secured thereto by said frusto-conical fillet sections.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 05/491,302Filed 24 Jul 1974
Granted: 20 Jul 1976
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

B29D 99/0046
Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass: producing rods
B29C 33/52
With means for, or specially constructed to facilitate, the removal of articles, e.g. of undercut articles: soluble or fusible
B29C 53/566
Winding and joining, e.g. winding spirally: for making tubular articles followed by compression
B29C 53/585
For making tubular articles with particular features: the cross-section varying along their axis, e.g. tapered, with ribs, or threads, with…