Claims
- 1. A method of fabricating a fiber reinforced composite structure from at least two sets of filaments from a filament supply applied to a non-rotating mandrel support surface chosen to match a desired shape of said composite structure, said method comprising the steps of:
placing at least one or more first fiber sets in any non-secured but predetermined orientations of from zero to essentially ninety degrees on said support surface; and over-wrapping said first fiber set(s) with at least one additional fiber set, which additional set extends around the mandrel support surface and secures said first fiber set in said predetermined orientations.
- 2. The method in accordance with claim 1 and comprising the additional step of:
impregnating said fiber sets with a matrix material which solidifies said fiber sets into said desired shape; and removing said impregnated fiber structure from said mandrel support surface whereby said matrix material and said fibers have an inside shape that matches the outside shape of the support surface.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the support surface is a mandrel, the filament supply is from bobbins wound with said filaments and said method comprises the further steps of:
applying the fiber from said bobbins to said mandrel by relative motions between said filament supply and said mandrel.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the support surface is a mandrel having a longitudinal axis and wherein said filaments are delivered from spool sets and comprising the further steps of:
rotating and/or translating one or more spool sets relative to said longitudinal axis of said mandrel.
- 5. The method of claim 4 wherein some of the fibers are drawn from a set of one or more spools having bobbins designed to carry wound fibers, and said method further comprises the step of:
arraying said spool set and said bobbins in a predetermined pattern around said mandrel.
- 6. The method in accordance with claim 5 comprising the additional step of:
applying said fiber filament from a fixed location relative to said support surface.
- 7. The method of claim 6 comprising the further step of:
controlling said movement of said spool sets such that at least one of said sets is non rotational while said set still moves axially along said longitudinal axis of said non-rotating mandrel.
- 8. The method of claim 5, wherein said fiber filament sets forming said composite structure employ the use of one or more sets of spools of fibers from bobbins that will be applied to said mandrel, and said method comprises the further step of:
removing the mandrel from the composite structure by collapsing said mandrel.
- 9. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of:
supporting said sets of spools such that the position of said sets are fixed relative to each other in the direction corresponding to the axial direction of said mandrel.
- 10. Filament winding apparatus for fabricating fiber reinforced composite structures from at least two sets of filaments to be applied to a non-rotating support surface chosen to match the desired shape of said composite structure, said apparatus comprising:
first means for placing at least one or more first fiber sets in any non-secured but predetermined orientations from zero to ninety degrees on said support surface; second inner means located within the first fiber set placing means and having located therein an opening for receiving a filament support surface; and filament control means including said second means for over-wrapping said first fiber set(s) with at least one additional fiber set, which additional set extends around the support surface and secures said first fiber set in said predetermined orientations on said support surface.
- 11. Apparatus for fabricating fiber reinforced composite structures in accordance with claim 10 and further comprising:
means for impregnating said fiber sets with a matrix material which solidifies said fiber sets into said desired shape prior to removal from said support surface.
- 12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein said support surface is a mandrel and said apparatus further comprises:
means for holding said mandrel in a stationary position; and means for applying the fiber sets to said stationary mandrel by spool sets which are moved relative to the stationary mandrel.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the mandrel has a longitudinal axis and said apparatus further comprises:
a plurality of circular spool sets which are in side by side relation with each other and all sharing a common center aligned with said longitudinal axis of said mandrel; and each of said spool sets having bobbins adapted to receive wound spools of said fiber filaments together with fiber application rings centrally located within said spools and also having the same common center as said circular spool sets.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the mandrel has a longitudinal axis and said apparatus further comprises:
means for rotating one or more spools around the mandrel and also moving said spool sets along said longitudinal axis relative to said mandrel at a controlled rate such that a circumferential helix of said secondary filaments fixes and secures said primary filaments in place along said mandrel.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein some of the fibers are drawn from a set of one or more spools of fibers and said apparatus further comprises:
means for arraying said spools in a spaced pattern which surrounds said mandrel.
- 16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 10 and further comprising:
means for applying said fiber filament from a fixed location relative to said support surface.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 10 and further comprising:
means for controlling said movement of said spool sets such that at least one of said sets is non rotational while still moving axially along said longitudinal axis.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 10 and further comprising:
means for removing the mandrel from the composite structure by collapsing said mandrel.
- 19. Filament winding apparatus for fabricating fiber reinforced composite structures from a plurality of sets of filaments to be applied to a non-rotating mandrel support surface chosen to match the desired shape of said composite structure, said apparatus comprising:
first outer circular means having spools of wound filaments thereon for placing at least one or more first fiber sets in any non-secured but predetermined orientations from zero to ninety degrees on said mandrel support surface; second inner means located within the first fiber set placing means and having located therein filament openings for guiding filaments from said outer circular means to the inner surface of said second means for secondary filament placement and over-wrapping of said primary filaments on the surface of said mandrel support for securing said primary filaments in place on said mandrel; and means for controlling the movement of said first and second filament supply means such that the primary and secondary filaments supply means are rotated around said non-rotating mandrel and both said first and second means translate together as a fixed unit back and forth along the longitudinal axis of said mandrel while applying concentric layers of filaments in said predetermined orientations around each layer on said mandrel support surface.
- 20. The filament winding apparatus of claim 12 wherein the mandrel has a longitudinal axis and said apparatus further comprises:
a plurality of circular spool sets which are in side by side relation with each other and all sharing a common center aligned with said longitudinal axis of said mandrel; and each of said spool sets having bearing races and bearings located between the inner surfaces of adjacent spool sets which allow adjacent spool sets to be controlled independently of each other during said filament layer application.
PREVIOUS FILING INFORMATION
[0001] On May 29, 2001 the United States Patent Office received a copy of—and assigned serial No. 60/294,195 to—a Provisional Patent Application (PPA) filed by the same inventor hereof. That PPA is incorporated herein by this reference as though set out here in full. Additionally, the PPA is being supplemented by this Regular Patent Application (RPA). Applicant expressly reserves all rights and privileges flowing from the PPA and its earlier official filing date and contents thereof. This RPA follows and is supported by the PPA.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60294195 |
May 2001 |
US |