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:
Aug. 16, 1983
Filed:
Dec. 29, 1980
Lockheed Corporation, Burbank, CA (US);
Abstract
The invention is directed to an apparatus and method for curing polymeric materials by use of a closed-loop, automatic process control technique. A dielectric monitoring device (15) senses the electrical characteristics which are analogous to viscosity changes taking place in an uncured or partially cured polymeric material (10) while heat is applied thereto. The generated analog signal, which changes in response to variations in the capacitance and dissipation of the polymeric material, is fed into a microcomputer (21) which determines from the direction and amplitude of the generated wave form both the maximum and minimum levels of capacitance and dissipation developed. When a predetermined condition is reached, the microcomputer (21) sends a control signal to processing equipment (24,25) to apply pressure, heat and/or vacuum to the polymeric material (10) at or near the onset of gelation but prior to the hardening point. The microcomputer (21) is programmed so as to discard random electrical signals and questionable data such as from short-term burst noises. The system can be used for curing various polymeric materials having differing characteristics.