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US 4,557,790 AGranted
Tape laminator
AssigneeCincinnati Milacron Inc.
InventorJerry D. Wisbey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tape laying machine is disclosed carrying a tape laminator unit which forms in situ from individual strips of composite material. The strips are first spaced apart on a carrier sheet and next compressed to a relatively thin widened state where the widened strips are contiguous to one another, forming a unitary wide composite tape. The tape is conveyed to a tape laydown station where it is transferred from the carrier sheet and deposited on a work surface.
Claims9
A tape laying machine, comprising in combination:
- (a) a machine base having a substantially horizontal base way system defining an X-direction of travel;
- (b) a gantry supported on said base way system and having a substantially horizontal gantry way system defining a Y-direction of travel;
- (c) a saddle supported on said gantry way system and having a substantially vertical saddle way system defining a Z-direction of travel;
- (d) a vertical slide supported on said saddle way system and having a rotary way system defining a rotary C-axis of movement;
- (e) a tape head base mounted to said rotary way system;
- (f) drive means for moving said tape head base in X, Y, Z, and C directions;
- (g) a tape laminator affixed to said tape head base, comprising:
- (1) a housing;
- (2) a carrier sheet movable with respect to said housing;
- (3) means for spacing a plurality of relatively thick strips of compressible material from one another and depositing said spaced strips on said carrier sheet;
- (4) means for cutting said strips to predetermined lengths;
- and
- (5) means for compressing said strips on said carrier sheet to form relatively thin widened strips which are contiguous to one another, creating a unitary wide tape;
- (h) means for advancing said carrier sheet and said wide tape to a tape laydown station defined on said tape head;
- (i) means for depositing said wide tape on a designated work surface relatively located at said tape laydown station;
- and
- (j) means for transporting said carrier sheet from said tape laydown station after depositing said tape.
14 more elements
A tape laying head, comprising in combination:
- (a) a tape head base;
- (b) a tape laminator affixed to said tape head base, comprising:
- (1) a housing;
- (2) a carrier sheet movable with respect to said housing;
- (3) means for spacing a plurality of relatively thick strips of compressible material from one another and depositing said spaced strips on said carrier sheet;
- and
- (4) means for compressing said strips on said sheet to form relatively thin widened strips which are contiguous to one another, creating a unitary wide tape
- (c) means for advancing said carrier sheet and said wide tape to a tape laydown station, said means for advancing being mounted to said tape head base;
- (d) means for depositing said wide tape on a designated work surface at said tape laydown station;
- and
- (e) means for transporting said carrier sheet from said tape laydown station after depositing said tape.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.