Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho

Other

Fukuo Gomi

Tomohito Ito

Renichi Isomura

Hidetoshi Hirai

Meiji Anahara

Mitsutoshi Hirano

Yoshikatsu Mizuno

Hayato Ikeda

Senichi Masuda

Takashi Yoshida

Masayuki Kurahashi

A process for producing fiber aggregate which comprises the steps of coating a conductive material which is insoluble in a dielectric fluid on the surface of fibers; dispersing the fibers into the dielectric fluid to obtain a fiber suspended fluid; introducing the fiber suspended fluid into an electric field which is generated in a space between a positive electrode and a negative electrode, whereby causing individual fibers to electrostatically and one-dimensionally orient; and aggregating the oriented fibers. The conductive material contributes to charge-transfer, and it causes the fibers in the electric filed to orient stably.

Process for producing fiber aggregate

The present invention relates to a process for producing fiber aggregate which comprises a dispersion step of dispersing fibers in the form of short fiber, whisker, or a mixture thereof into a dielectric fluid; an orientation step of placing the dielectric fluid containing said fibers dispersed therein in a space between a positive electrode and a negative electrode across which a high voltage is applied, whereby causing individual fibers in the dielectric fluid to electrostatically orient, with one end pointing to the positive electrode and the other end pointing to the negative electrode; and an aggregating step of aggregating the statically oriented fibers while keeping the oriented step, whereby producing fiber aggregate in which said fibers are mostly one-dimensionally oriented. Small amounts of surface active agent in the dielectric liquid promote fiber orientation in addition to dispersing the fibers.

The present invention relates to a process for producing fiber aggregate which includes an orientation step of placing the dielectric fluid containing fibers in the form of short fiber, whisker, or a mixture thereof dispersed therein in a space between a pair of electrodes across which an AC voltage is applied, whereby causing individual fibers in the dielectric fluid to electrostatically orient, with one end pointing to one of electrodes and the other end pointing to the other electrode; and an aggregating step of aggregating the electrostatically oriented fibers while keeping the oriented step, whereby producing fiber aggregate in which the fibers are substantially one-dimensionally oriented.

A fiber aggregate in which many of the fibers are oriented in the tangent direction of the circumference satisfactorily can be produced by a process and an apparatus according to the present invention. The best feature of the present invention is the following arrangement for a plurality of electrodes used in a process and an apparatus according to the present invention. Vertically extending foil, net or needle-shaped electrodes for orienting the fibers electrostatically are disposed alternately along the circumference of the vertically cylindrical space so as to divide the vertically cylindrical space into equal parts. In addition to this arrangement, the plurality of electrodes may be rotated as well as moved vertically in order not to disturb the fiber aggregation. A fiber aggregate obtained by the present invention has an improved strength and anti-thermal properties.

Apparatus for producing a fiber aggregate

The feature of the present invention is that a fiber mixture of silicon carbide or silicon nitride whiskers and alumina or alumina-silica short fibers with 1 to 45 volume percent of the short fibers in relation to the total volume of the whiskers and short fibers is used in the following steps for producing a fiber aggregate: a dispersion step of dispersing whiskers and short fibers into a dielectric fluid; an orientation step of placing the dielectric fluid containing the fibers dispersed therein in a space between a positive electrode and a negative electrode across which a high voltage is applied, whereby causing individual fibers in the dielectric fluid to electrostatically orient, with one end pointing to the positive electrode and the other end pointing to the negative electrode; and an aggregating step of aggregating the electrostatically oriented fibers while keeping the oriented step. The fiber mixture is used in order to grow the bridgings of whiskers around the short fibers as cores. Thus the fiber sedimentation is accelerated by densely bridged fibers while maintaining a satifactory orientation. Hence a whisker aggregate with a larger fiber volume ratio Vf can be formed in a shorter period of time.

Process for producing a fiber aggregate

The present invention relates to a process for producing fiber aggregate which comprises a dispersion step of dispersing fibers in the form of short fiber, whisker, or a mixture thereof into a dielectric fluid; an orientation step of placing the dielectric fluid containing said fibers dispersed therein in a space between a positive electrode and a negative electrode across which a high voltage is applied, whereby causing individual fibers in the dielectric fluid to statistically orient, with one end pointing to the positive electrode and the other end pointing to the negative electrode; and an aggregating step of aggregating the statically oriented fibers while keeping the oriented step, whereby producing fiber aggregate in which said fibers are mostly one-dimensionally oriented.

A swash plate (3) incorporated in a swash plate type compressor and comprising a boss (10) typically formed of aluminum material, which is fixedly secured on a drive shaft (2), and a swash plate assembly (11) extending obliquely from the boss (10), which assembly comprises a pair of front and rear contact plates (12) made of iron and brought into contact with a pair of shoes (6) which are accommodated in recesses (15a) of a piston (5), a connecting member (13) made of iron rigidly connecting the pair of contact plates (12), and a filler (14) made of aluminum material which completely fills the internal spaced formed between the contact plates (12). According to this structure, the change of the distance between recesses (15a) for accommodating the shoes (6) due to the expansion or shrinkage of the piston (5) is compensated by the change of the thickness of the plate assembly (11), whereby the shoe clearance is always kept constant even during a high speed operation of the compressor or in an operation in a low temperature atmosphere, while the slidability of the shoe (6) against the contact plate (12) is maintained at the same level.

Swash plate utilized for swash plate type compressor

The present invention relates to an apparatus for continuously producing one-dimensionally oriented fiber aggregate in which an orientation vessel includes a case, a supply portion, an orientation portion, a discharge portion, at least one pair of electrodes disposed on the orientation portion of the vessel, and a sheet drive unit. A dielectric fluid in which whiskers and/or short fibers are dispersed is supplied downwardly, and the fibers oriented one-dimensionally by means of high voltage applied across electrodes disposed in an orientation vessel. The sheet drive unit moves a long filter sheet disposed horizontally between the orientation portion and the discharge portion of the orientation vessel to enable the dielectric liquid to pass the filter sheet to the discharge portion of the vessel, and permitting the fibers to aggregate on the sheet.

Apparatus for producing oriented fiber aggregate

An apparatus for manufacturing a fiber reinforcement body which is to be incorporated into a metal matrix in a fabrication technique based on a molten metal infiltration process for producing a metal matrix composite material are disclosed herein. The apparatus of the invention comprises means for supporting the chill members in longitudinally spaced relation to each other, means for forming uniformly distributed windings of the yarn on each of the chills, and means for forming similar windings of the yarn around, and extending between the chills in a way so as to connect them together.

Apparatus for manufacturing a fiber reinforcement body

A method and an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber reinforcement body which is to be incorporated into a metal matrix in a fabrication technique based on a molten metal infiltration process for producing a metal matrix composite material are disclosed herein. The method according to the invention comprises preparing at least two metal insert chills each having the shape of a spool or reel, forming windings of a yarn of reinforcing fibers on each of the two chills, and forming windings of the yarn around, and extending between the two chill members so as to connect them together. The apparatus of the invention comprises means for supporting the chill members in longitudinally spaced relation to each other, means for forming uniformly distributed windings of the yarn on each of the chills, and means for forming similar windings of the yarn around, and extending between the chills in a way so as to connect them together.

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Nagoya, Japan

Fukuo Gomi