Patents Assigned to Tetrahex, Inc.
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Patent number: 5070673Abstract: A lightweight, high strength moldable structure is comprised of a core having a plurality of interconnected cavities. Each solid-walled cavity has a hexagonal base so that the core of the structure has upper and lower surfaces. Each solid-walled cavity has a unique tetrahexagonal shape in which a regular tetrahedron is located on top of and integrated with a hexagonal base. The walls of the cavities may be solid or they may be defined by a series of support struts for an even lighter weight structure. The upper and lower surfaces may be covered by skins, making it suitable for boat hulls, vacuum chambers, and aircraft.Type: GrantFiled: November 2, 1988Date of Patent: December 10, 1991Assignee: Tetrahex, Inc.Inventor: Dick O. Weisse
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Patent number: 5040966Abstract: A mold die includes a hexagonal base having six sides and six vertices disposed around an axis, and a tetrahedron having an apex aligned with the axis of the base. The base is integrated with the tetrahedron to form three congruent parallelogram walls, one vertex of each parallelogram wall being coincident with the apex of the tetrahedron, the other three vertices of each parallelogram wall being aligned with respective vertices of the base. The die further includes slots extending into the parallelogram walls parallel to the axis of the base. The die forms a tetrahexagonal walled cavity of a truss structure corresponding to the shape of the die, whereas the slots form perpendicular walls which structurally interconnect the apices of adjacent cavities and increase the rigidity of the truss structure.Type: GrantFiled: November 9, 1989Date of Patent: August 20, 1991Assignee: Tetrahex, Inc.Inventor: Dick O. Weisse
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Patent number: 5005800Abstract: A die having a plurality of walls for making a structure includes a die apex, a tetrahedron having tetrahedron edges and a tetrahedron apex that coincides with the die apex, and a hexagonal base located on the opposite end of the die from the die apex. The base is integrated with the tetrahedron such that three walls of the die are parallelograms having parallelogram edges, a first parallelogram vertex of each parallelogram wall intersects the tetrahedron apex, and the opposing second parallelogram vertex of each parallelogram intersects a base vertex. The parallelogram edges are milled down to allow plastic to flow between adjacent edges during a molding process and thereby form a truss structure comprising angled struts. A groove may formed in the parallelogram walls such that the groove joins a third parallelogram vertex with an opposing fourth parallelogram vertex in the parallelogram wall to form horizontal struts in a central portion of the structure.Type: GrantFiled: September 18, 1989Date of Patent: April 9, 1991Assignee: Tetrahex, Inc.Inventor: Dick O. Weisse
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Patent number: 4967533Abstract: A lightweight, high strength moldable structure is comprised of a core having a plurality of interconnected cavities. Each solid-walled cavity has a hexagonal base so that the core of the structure has upper and lower surfaces. Each solid-walled cavity has a unique tetrahexagonal shape in which a regular tetrahedron is located on top of and integrated with a hexagonal base. The walls of the cavities may be solid or they may be defined by a series of support struts for an even lighter weight structure. The upper and lower surfaces may be covered by skins, making it suitable for boat hulls, vacuum chambers, and aircraft. The hexagonal bases of the solid walled cavities may be replaced by perpendicular support walls extending between the adjacent tetrahedral apices and/or hexagonal base vertices.Type: GrantFiled: September 1, 1989Date of Patent: November 6, 1990Assignee: Tetrahex, Inc.Inventor: Dick O. Weisse
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Patent number: 4923544Abstract: A lightweight, high strength moldable structure is comprised of a core having a plurality of interconnected cavities. Each solid-walled cavity has a hexagonal base so that the core of the structure has upper and lower surfaces. Each solid-walled cavity has a unique tetrahexagonal shape in which a regular tetrahedron is located on top of and integrated with a hexagonal base. The walls of the cavities may be solid or they may be defined by a series of support struts for an even lighter weight structure. The upper and lower surfaces may be covered by skins, making it suitable for boat hulls, vacuum chambers, and aircraft.Type: GrantFiled: September 18, 1989Date of Patent: May 8, 1990Assignee: Tetrahex, Inc.Inventor: Dick O. Weisse