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US 9,844,918 B2Granted
Inflatable pressure intensifier
AssigneeILC Dover, Inc.
InventorsDavid Phillip Cadogan, Stephen Emerson Scarborough, Anshu Dixit, Jonathan Michael Hinkle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention describes novel design and construction method for inflatable, pressure intensifier equipment that can be used for processing composites structures. The equipment can be used as a manufacturing and processing platform wherever low pressure and high temperature inputs are required in an enclosed volume.
Claims19
A flexible walled pressure intensifier for processing composite materials, the processing consisting of at least one selected from the group consisting of curing, post-curing, co-curing, bonding composite parts and combinations thereof;
- wherein the pressure intensifier comprises a plurality of inflatable shell modules, the shell modules being connectable;
- the modules, when connected together form a single vessel with an internal volume, such that the pressure intensifier can be configured in any size or shape to accommodate different sizes and shapes of the composite materials to be processed within the internal volume formed by the pressure intensifier;
- each of the plurality of inflatable shell modules of the pressure intensifier further comprising an inflatable shell made from a plurality of layers of softgoods
- the pressure intensifier further comprising a removable interconnected framework of rigid beams that support and constrain the softgoods of the inflatable shell;
- and a rigid internal platform, positioned inside of the internal volume, configured to support the composite materials to be processed.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.