Abstract: A method of manufacturing stiffened structural panel for an aircraft including a main sheet made of composite material with unidirectional fibers, and a stiffening structure secured to the main sheet and made of a composite material comprising a resin and chopped fibers, the stiffening structure including on the one hand a base adhering to one of the two lateral faces of the main sheet, and a network of stiffeners in the form of a grid projecting from the base. The method includes a step of compression molding the stiffening structure from a block formed of a prepolymer reinforced with chopped fibers.

Abstract: An array of hollow fibers including a plurality of hollow fibers of a predetermined diameter configured to receive a gas having oxygen therein and transfer the oxygen to a fluid and/or transfer carbon dioxide in the fluid to a gas. The array is configured in a predetermined pattern having a predetermined packing density that is a fraction of a total cross-sectional area of the array occupied by the hollow fibers.

Abstract: A panel former is provided for producing a panel that is formed from polymer tubing for solar collectors, heat exchangers, and other devices. The panel former can receive the tubing and continuously wrap the tubing around a drum so that support members can be welded to the tubing. After the support members are welded to the tubing, the tubing can be cut along a line substantially parallel to the support members to remove the tubing from the panel former and to form the risers in a panel.

Abstract: Structures and techniques are described for aligning multicore optical fibers in a multicore optical fiber cable having a plurality of optical fiber cores, at least one end portion and a protective coating. The protective coating is removed from the end portion of the multicore fiber cable to create an exposed end portion of the multicore fiber. The exposed end portion of the multicore fiber is inserted into a guide hole defined longitudinally through a ferrule subassembly. The cores of the fiber are aligned rotationally, in a predetermined orientation, relative to the ferrule. Each fiber is biased within its respective guide hole in a predetermined orientation relative to the ferrule. The multicore fiber is bonded within the ferrule. The fiber is trimmed at the ferrule tip and the ferrule and fiber end faces are polished, so that a selected alignment of the multicore fiber is achieved.

Abstract: An array of hollow fibers including a plurality of hollow fibers of a predetermined diameter configured to receive a gas having oxygen therein and transfer the oxygen to a fluid and/or transfer carbon dioxide in the fluid to a gas. The array is configured in a predetermined pattern having a predetermined packing density that is a fraction of a total cross-sectional area of the array occupied by the hollow fibers.

Abstract: A method is described for making a composite laminate formed by curing a stacked structure comprising at least two layers of strips of fibrous material impregnated with resin, wherein the strips in adjacent layers have different directional orientations. An apparatus is provided for simultaneously separating a band of fibrous material impregnated with resin into strips and depositing the strips between adjacent pin rows of a pinmat to form the stacked structure.

Abstract: A laminated structural body is manufactured by laminating unidirectionally arranged strands and a web such that two layers of the web sandwich the strands therebetween. A cylindrical web is delivered in a direction parallel to a central axis thereof. A polymer liquid is discharged from a spinning head, which is disposed in the cylindrical web and rotated about the central axis of the cylindrical web, toward an inner surface of the cylindrical web to spin strands of the discharged polymer liquid. The spun strands are arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical web and laminated on the inner surface of the cylindrical web. The cylindrical web with the strands laminated thereon is folded flatwise to sandwich the strands between the two folded layers of the web.

Abstract: An improved apparatus for the manufacturing of wavy pre-preg material that moves a first group of rollers in a transverse and a longitudinal direction with respect to a second group of rollers, to place a sinuous waveform in a fiber reinforced matrix for the manufacture of a wavy pre-preg material. The fabrication of wavy fiber pre-preg (fibers pre-impregnated with epoxy resin as an example) can be accomplished with an automated control system that permits the creation of non-periodic or mixed waveforms. The improved apparatus for this process allows for a more accurate placement of fibers, production of a wider variety of usable waveforms, and increased quality of pre-preg produced.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a multipole assembly for use in mass spectrometers, residual gas analyzers, mass filters, ion containment apparatus and particle beam accelerators. A precision mandrel tool is utilized for positioning a plurality of electrode rods in position during the manufacturing process. The electrode rods are placed on the mandrel. At least one insulator is positioned about the mandrel-rod assembly such that the mandrel-rod assembly psses through the insulator. The rods are tightly clamped to the mandrel and adhesive is placed in a gap established between each rod and the insulator. The adhesive is cured such that it acts both as a rigid bond between the insulator and each rod, as well as a precision spacer for positioning each rod in a precision position after the mandrel is removed from the assembly.

Abstract: A process and an apparatus for high speed manufacture of a composite sheet material, which includes a cylindrical cam-driven strand-traverse guide that can loop strands around pins projecting from a pair of advancing pin conveyors which can transfer the strands to the surface of a moving sheet, are provided. When the strands are elastic, the elastic composite sheet material made by this process and apparatus are useful in elastic components of disposable diapers, adult incontinence articles and other garments.

Abstract: A fabric light control window covering in which fabric vanes are adhesively bonded between two sheer fabric sheets such that relative movement between the sheer fabric sheets in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric vanes changes the angle of the fabric vanes and, thus, controls the amount of light admitted through the shade. The vanes are bonded to the sheer fabric sheets in a manner which tends to bias the sheer fabric sheets together to the nonlight admitting position. Also, disclosed are methods and apparatus for manufacturing the above window covering. The method features linear application of adhesive to the vane material which provides for a uniform appearance in the finished product. A heat setting process and apparatus is disclosed in which the bonded layers of sheer fabrics and vanes are fed between belts over hot and cool surfaces, under uniform tension and pressure.

Abstract: Coilable, tape-like structures are disclosed, that contain parallel segments of dental floss. Each segment has a bead on each of its ends for handling by an applicator. The beads can be fixed to the ends of a floss segment, either by melting its ends (without allowing the melted bead to contact a solid surface) or by press fitting the floss into slits in molded beads and fixing them with a bonding agent. The coilable structures can be made, either by mounting the floss segments onto a flexible tape or by fastening beads of adjacent floss segments together. In the latter version, the floss is (optionally) made stiff enough to support its weight, laterally. Apparatus for producing the coilable structures includes an elongated, substantially-flat, rotating chassis on which floss from a tensioning dispenser is wound. In one embodiment, a tape is held onto the upper surface of the chassis while the floss is wound into slits in the edges of the tape.

Abstract: The present invention is a hollow fiber separation assembly having one or more bundles of hollow fiber membranes with a tubesheet at each end enclosed by an end cap. An impermeable housing, preferably made from a flexible polymeric material, most preferably a shrinkable tubing, contacts and encloses the bundle, extending between the end caps. The polymeric, impermeable housing contacts and compacts the array of fibers in the bundle to enhance axial flow along the outside of individual fibers, protects the fiber bundle between the end caps, and contains the permeated fluid and diverts it to a port or ports at the end(s) of the bundle. This hollow fiber separation device provides a large capacity, and is also low cost, lightweight, may be used as a stand-alone separation device, and does not have a high-pressure section which requires testing.

Abstract: An apparatus for assembling a fiberglass reinforced grating from preformed bearing bars and cross bars includes an elongated open frame table having a plurality of rollers in side-by-side fashion with their axes transverse to the longitudinal axis of the table and supporting a set of upwardly upright transversely spaced bearing bars on the peripheries of the rollers. A loading rack formed of vertically upright transversely spaced spacing and alignment pins controls the lateral spacing of the bearing bars. A raisable stop upstream of a grooving station aligns the ends of the bearing bars. A vertically shiftable hold press hold down bar operates alternately with a vertically shiftable car press hold down bar and the car press is incremented which frictionally presses the bearing bars against the tabletop rollers to increment the set of bearing bars upon release of the hold press hold down bar.

Abstract: An aligning jig for loose wires, which is equipped with the first and second retaining sections for retaining and temporarily fixing a plurality of loose wires, an arraying section which arrays the plurality of loose wires in an optional loading order in a plurality of arraying grooves arrayed widthwise and holds the loose wires in a predetermined order, at least one arranging section which arranges the plurality of loose wires, arrayed in the arraying section, to a preset specified width, and a fixing section which glues the plurality of loose wires, which have been temporarily fixed by the first and second retaining sections and arranged to the specified width, while maintaining the arranging order, thus fixing the wires to the specified width.

Abstract: A stand-alone machine and a process for forming crosswise filaments for non-woven fabric comprises two sets of non-traversing edge spacing pins, each set with a gripper, and a traversing set of slider pins. The sets of pins are placed close together. Crosswise filament yarns are engaged by these sets of pins. The slider pins then traverse and pull the filaments to their full length. The crosswise filaments are cut and fixed to edge elements, which preferably may including adhering the crosswise filaments to selvage filaments. The edge elements are then separated to draw the crosswise filaments to their full width. The invention provides increased speed, precision, and flexibility in making crosswise filaments for non-woven fabrics.

Abstract: Polyimide-electron donor charge transfer complexes, supported or unsupported, as photoconductive elements characterized by photoconductivities in excess of the sum of the individual photoconductivities of the polyimide and electron donor components.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus are described for making a filamentary web. One or more strands of roving, each composed of multiple filaments, are spread out to increasing extents until the filaments form a band in which they extend unidirectionally and generally parallel to each other, but are not connected with one another. Adhesive strips, threads or other connecting elements are then transported on a carrier into a working station so as to be positioned transverse to the elongation of the band. In the working station, they are transferred to the band and joined to the filaments under application of contact pressure in the nip between cooperating nip rollers. This converts the band into a unitary filamentary web structure in which the filaments are all unidirectionally oriented.

Abstract: Apparatus for making plastic screen panels, and especially abrasion-resistant mining screens, includes a large rotary screen drum member on which an extruded, profiled cross-section screen surface-forming wire is helically wound at a pitch which will produce the desired screen slot width. Immediately adjacent the drum member is a rod-positioning mechanism from which a plurality of screen panel support rods are sequentially fed from a stack and welded to the wires on the drum surface in a direction parallel to the drum axis and transverse to the surface wires. The welding is done with a double-edged heater bar which is temporarily placed in contact with the rod and drum before the rod is forced against the drum. The screen drum is indexed after each support rod is attached to it by an angular amount sufficient to provide the desired spacing on the finished panel.

Abstract: Non woven fabrics are made by a method and an apparatus in which a preformed, planar set of adhesive coated or impregnated fill strands having a fixed orientation, spacing and tension of the fill strands is laminated to warp strands in the nip of pressure rolls.Adhesive lines are printed on a side of the warp strands opposite that engaged by the fill strands to prevent warp strands from hanging loosely from that side of the fabric.

Abstract: A reinforced laminate and the method and apparatus for the manufacture thereof which includes the embedding of reinforcing wire elements in plastic layers and plastic laminates to provide reinforced structures, producing a reinforced corrugated laminate including a corrugated layer with plastic layers applied to one or both sides thereof, producing a wire grid, corrugating the grid and applying overlying plastic layers and combining the planar and corrugated structures with cushioning and resilient foam materials.

Abstract: Assembly apparatus for a wear resistant plastic mining screen, preferably one made out of wires formed by extruding urethane around a rigid steel core, includes a feed roll having spaced grooves for receiving elongated profile wires which define the working surface of the screen. A support rod positioning member is mounted at a welding station to frictionally receive a screen support rod on its top side and then be flipped over to position the support rod above the profile wires which pass transversely under it. A welding bar having heated fin portions on its upper and lower sides is then passed between and in contact with the support rod and the profile wires to slightly melt them. The welding bar is then quickly removed and the support rod is quickly moved downwardly against the profile wires and held until the integral joints formed at each intersection are solidified. Additional support rods are welded to the profile wires at spaced intervals until the desired screen length has been reached.