The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 06, 2026
Filed:
Apr. 12, 2024
University of Pittsburgh—of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Sami Alshurafa, Johnstown, PA (US);
Laura Marie Wieserman, Blairsville, PA (US);
University of Pittsburgh—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
An elongated modular collapsible and expandable mandrel for forming prismatic or non-prismatic hollow bars of various cross-sections, comprising: a plurality of outer segments configured to define a prismatic or non-prismatic mandrel outer surface; a plurality of hub assemblies with each hub assembly comprising a central hub and a plurality of support members spaced-apart around a perimeter of the central hub, each support member is pivotally attached to a respective one of the plurality of outer segments by a first end of a link with the second end of the link pivotally attached to its respective central hub; and means for moving each central hub linearly causing each of its links to pivot toward or away from, depending upon the direction of axial movement of the central hub, a longitudinal axis of the means for moving each central hub linearly while the central hub moves linearly thereby expanding or contracting the cross-sectional dimension of the respective portions of the mandrel to which each of the plurality of hub assemblies is attached.