Patents Represented by Attorney Steven E. Alston & Bird Kahm
  • Patent number: 6042055
    Abstract: A thermal expansion joint having a plurality of bendable tabs which flex to minimize the stress caused by thermal expansion. The tabs flex at their slot radii by the base of the tabs, allowing the tip of the tabs to move. Apertures in the tabs near the tip connect the tabs to a solid body or to tabs on another body. The tabs' flexing relieves stress in the body undergoing thermal expansion at the point it is connected to a body which has a different thermal expansion rate and/or experiences a different temperature. A plurality of tabs so connecting two bodies provides a stiff joint and reduces the thickness of the material otherwise needed to provide a connection what will not crack or otherwise break due to thermal strains at the connection between two bodies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2000
    Assignee: Boeing North American, Inc.
    Inventor: Ross H. Messinger