Articles produced from automated fiber-placement systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10828849-B2
Application number	US-201916363857-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2019
Priority date	Mar 25, 2019
Publication date	Nov 10, 2020
Grant date	Nov 10, 2020

Abstract

An article of manufacture comprises a strip that extends along and is centered on a virtual curvilinear path, comprising an arc, having an arc length and a radius. A ratio of the strip-width to the radius is greater than or equal to 0.003. The arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/64. Within each of discrete strip-regions of the strip, one of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that is closest to the first longitudinal strip-edge is more buckled than another one of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that is closest to the second longitudinal strip-edge. Ones of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that are buckled are parallel to a smallest one of virtual surfaces, joining the first longitudinal strip-edge and the second longitudinal strip-edge.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture, comprising:
a strip, comprising a first longitudinal strip-edge and a second longitudinal strip-edge, parallel to the first longitudinal strip-edge and spaced from the first longitudinal strip-edge by a strip-width; and wherein:
the strip extends along and is centered on a virtual curvilinear path, comprising an arc, having an arc length and a radius;
the radius is measured from a virtual point on a virtual line that is perpendicular to the virtual curvilinear path and intersects the first longitudinal strip-edge and the second longitudinal strip-edge;
a ratio of the strip-width to the radius is greater than or equal to 0.003;
the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/64;
the strip comprises a resin strip-matrix and unidirectional reinforcement fibers, imbedded in the resin strip-matrix and extending along the virtual curvilinear path;
the first longitudinal strip-edge is closer to the virtual point than the second longitudinal strip-edge;
the strip further comprises discrete strip-regions, spaced along the virtual curvilinear path;
within each of the discrete strip-regions, one of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that is closest to the first longitudinal strip-edge is more buckled than another one of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that is closest to the second longitudinal strip-edge; and
ones of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that are buckled are parallel to a smallest one of virtual surfaces, joining the first longitudinal strip-edge and the second longitudinal strip-edge.

2. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the strip-width to the radius is greater than or equal to 0.005.

3. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the strip-width to the radius is greater than or equal to 0.01.

4. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the strip-width to the radius is greater than or equal to 0.03.

5. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/64.

6. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/32.

7. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/16.

8. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/8.

9. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/4.

10. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the arc length is equal to or greater than a product of the radius and π/2.

11. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the strip-width is less than 15 millimeters (0.6 inches).

12. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein, within each of the discrete strip-regions, at least one of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that are buckled comprises a plurality of folds.

13. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the discrete strip-regions are trapezoidal.

14. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein:
the strip further comprises intermediate strip-regions; and
any two adjacent ones of the intermediate strip-regions are separated from each other by one of the discrete strip-regions.

15. The article of manufacture according to claim 14 , wherein within each of the intermediate strip-regions, all of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers are only straight.

16. The article of manufacture according to claim 14 , wherein each of the unidirectional reinforcement fibers that are buckled within the discrete strip-regions are less buckled within the intermediate strip-regions than within the discrete strip-regions.

17. The article of manufacture according to claim 14 , wherein the intermediate strip-regions are rectangular.

18. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the strip is nonplanar.

19. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , wherein the article of manufacture is an aircraft.

20. The article of manufacture according to claim 19 , wherein:
the aircraft comprises a nose region; and
the nose region comprises the strip.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Johnson Brice A
• Ghose Sayata
• Malik Kevin F

Classifications

• B64C1/068

  Fuselage sections · CPC title

• B29C66/69

  General aspects of joining filaments  (bundling articles  B65B13/00; interconnecting successive lengths of material B65H69/00) · CPC title

• Y02T50/40

  Weight reduction · CPC title

• B29C66/961

  involving a feedback loop mechanism, e.g. comparison with a desired value · CPC title

• B29C66/9161

  by controlling or regulating the heat or the thermal flux, i.e. the heat flux · CPC title