Place and bundle method for the manufacture of brush seals
AssigneeTechnetics Corporation
InventorHarold Howe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A long ribbon, composed of a multitude of fine wires, is placed at the requisite bristle angle onto a backing ring. A torch, welds the ribbon to the backing plate and simultaneously severs the ribbon--forming a first bundle of wires. The severed ribbon is repositioned, relative to the backing ring, adjacent to the first bundle, and the ribbon is again welded in-place and cut. The procedure of placement, welding and cutting is repeated until the backing plate (or the ribbon) has been repositioned over the desired length of the plate to achieve the requisite bristle array of the brush seal.
Claims9
A place and bundle method for the production of an array of bristles for use in the production of a brush seal, said array being comprised of a multitude of aligned, contiguous bundles of bristles secured to a backing plate;
- said backing plate having two, approximately equidistant edges, a sealing edge and trailing edge, which comprises,
- providing a ribbon of fibers, said ribbon being composed of a multitude of individual strands of fiber,
- feeding the ribbon onto the backing plate, the ribbon being positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to said plate, with the leading end of the ribbon projecting past the sealing edge of the plate,
- permanently securing a portion of the ribbon, at a line along the entire width thereof, to a portion of the plate and cutting the ribbon at a line near the trailing edge of the plate, thereby forming a first supported bundle of bristles,
- repositioning the remaining ribbon and feeding it onto the backing plate, so that the ribbon is substantially contiguous to said first bundle, and its longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to the axis of the first bundle,
- repeating the securing, cutting and repositioning steps to produce said array.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.