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US 5,203,937 AGranted
Manufacture of a reinforced tubular article
AssigneeBridgestone/Firestone, Inc.
InventorAnthony G. Goodfellow
Life of this patent
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AssigneeBridgestone/Firestone, Inc.
InventorAnthony G. Goodfellow
Estimating the term…
A method for the manufacture of a reinforced tubular article involves forming at a first work station (14) a first flexible reinforced tubular structure in which at least one reinforcing element extends generally circumferentially, e.g. helically. The first tubular structure is cut transversely to form cut edges (17, 18) and then transported, typically as a flat sheet, by means of a carrier (15) to a second work station (25, 26) at which it is formed into a second reinforced tubular structure in which the cut edges (17, 18) extend generally circumferentially. Thus there is provided, by the method of the invention, a second reinforced tubular structure in which the reinforcing element(s) of the first tubular structure is or are re-orientated to extend in a substantially longitudinal direction of the tubular structure.
A method for the manufacture of a reinforced tubular article, comprising forming at a first work station a flexible tubular reinforcement structure comprising a layer of polymeric material having at least partially embedded therein at least one reinforcing element, cutting said flexible tubular reinforcement structure transversely between the axial ends of the structure when at the first work station to provide a pair of transverse edges, feeding said flexible reinforcement structure onto a carrier at the first work station for transport thereon to a second work station, transporting the flexible reinforcement structure from the first to the second work station whilst supported by the carrier and maintained in an accurate stationary location relative to the surface of the carrier and winding the flexible reinforcement structure at a second work station into a substantially tubular form in which said transverse edges extend substantially in the circumferential direction.
The method claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible tubular reinforcement structure at the first work station comprises a plurality of reinforcing elements which extend substantially circumferentially in the tubular structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.