The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company

Combustion Engineering, Inc.

Gilles J Page

Richard L Palinkas

Glen E Schukei

Sung W Hong

Paul W Hubert

Robert W Franzen

A device for aligning nuclear fuel pellets, for insertion into fuel rods, comprises a vibrating table and a conveyor assembly adapted to receive pellets poured from a container and to deposit them in a single layer on the table. The upper surface of the table is formed with a number of parallel, substantially v-shaped grooves in which the pellets become aligned. The conveyor assembly, which comprises a horizontal traveling belt and an inclined planar slide, is slid along above the table to facilitate the distribution of pellets thereon. An inspection station, adjacent the table, comprises a number of rotating, parallel rollers in columnar-flow communication with the table grooves. Aligned pellets from the table are delivered onto the rollers where they slowly rotate, presenting their circumferential surfaces for visual inspection. A displaceable control member, transversely disposed between the table and the inspection station, controls transfer of pellets therebetween. A number of trough members, each adapted to receive a column of aligned pellets, are releasably attachable to the distal end of the inspection station.

Pellet stacking machine

A non-pneumatic tire ('NPT') is integrally molded from a stiff, resilient elastomeric material with particular specifications, to form a unitary structure comprising outer and inner cylindrical coaxial and coextensive members ('hoops'). The outer hoop is supported and cushioned by a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, planar rib members (ribs) and a planar central web member (web) which connects the hoops at their circumferential center lines. The web lies in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the NPT. The ribs extend axially along the inner and outer hoops, connecting them, and the edges of the ribs lie along the opposite faces of the web. The ribs are angulated in the range from 15.degree. to 75.degree. to radial planes which intersect them at their radially inner ends. A rubber tread is secured to the outer surface of the outer hoop. The coaction of the structural elements of the NPT provide a load-supporting structure which, in operation, is subjected to continuous compression and tensile forces as it travels over the ground. Its deformation and buckling characteristics which are derived from the unique interaction of the structural elements provide the NPT with 'ride' and 'handling' characteristics surprisingly similar to those of a conventional pneumatic tire.

Non-pneumatic tire with supporting and cushioning members

A process is disclosed for extruding a flat strip of uniformly thick sealant stock from an extruder which extrudes the sealant stock with a rotary helical action. The stock consists essentially of a vulcanizable mixture of a high molecular weight (mol wt) elastomer, a low mol wt elastomer, a curing agent and a processing aid selected from a tackifier and a homogenizer. The strip is less than about 10 mm thick, and at least 10 times as wide as it is thick. The stock does not flow and cannot be poured even at 212.degree. F. The stock is supplied to the extruder by a reciprocating pump which maintains an intermittent pressure yet provides the required uniform thickness of strip. Each component of the stock strongly adheres to any surface, to all metal surfaces and to each other, making it difficult to obtain a homogeneous mixture. The rate at which the strip is discharged from the extruder is maintained substantially constant, and its thickness controlled by the speed of a horizontal endless belt conveyor onto which the vertically hanging strip is continuously discharged. A spray coating of aqueous polyvinyl alcohol, which is then dried, leaves a detackified surface without which the extrudate could not be handled.

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Enfield, CT, United States of America

Gilles J Page