Tool for sealing superplastic tube
US5649439A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 6, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 22, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 6, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49865
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A tool for sealing two ends of a tube of superplastic material in preparation for superplastically forming the tube against inside surfaces of a die by gas pressure inside of the tube. The tool has a longitudinal axis that is coincident with the longitudinal axis of the tube when the tool is positioned in the tube, and has two end caps with a cross-sectional shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the tube ends on a plane perpendicular to the axis. A central connecting tube extends between and connects the two end caps. The end caps are made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the tube, and expand, on heating, into intimate sealing contact with the inside surface of the tube ends. A gas connector in at least one of the end caps, located in the end cap radially outside the connection of the connecting tube to the end cap, connects a gas line from a gas management system for introducing forming gas under pressure into the tube, after the ends thereof are sealed by the end caps and the tube is heated to the thermoplastic forming temperature thereof, for inflating the tube against the inside surfaces…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.