Process for forming flexible tubular bodies with multiple helical elements
US4757700A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 10, 1986 |
| Grant date | Jul 19, 1988 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 10, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC D)Textiles; Paper
- CPC primaryD07B2201/2008
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
Process and apparatus for making a flexible tube comprising a plurality of helicoidal metal members in side-by-side relation. In the process, metal strips, shaped to the desired configuration, are twisted around their longitudinal axes to helicoidal shape, the twisting being sufficient to cause the shape to be retained if the strip is released. Thereafter, the so-shaped strip is bent around an axis extending in the width direction of the strip by an amount sufficient to cause the strip to have a radius substantially equal to the tube radius. The strips are then laid up, side-by-side into a tube. The apparatus comprises a rotatable cage carrying bobbins having the strips thereon, two pairs of preshaping rollers to produce the twist and the bend mounted for rotation with the cage, a mold for laying up the helicoidal strips, a guide element for the strips intermediate the rollers and the mold and a take-up bobbin or drum for winding up the tube as it leaves the mold.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.