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:
Oct. 30, 1984
Filed:
Feb. 10, 1983
James M Beggs, Washington, DC (US);
Garland D Johnston, Huntsville, AL (US);
Archie D Coleman, Huntsville, AL (US);
Joseph N Portwood, Decatur, AL (US);
Jerry M Saunders, Huntsville, AL (US);
John W Redmon, Huntsville, AL (US);
Allen C Porter, Madison, AL (US);
Abstract
A method and a system for testing the bonding of foam insulation (22) attached to metal. The system involves the use of an impacter (10) which has a calibrated load cell (12) mounted on a plunger (14) and a hammer head (16) mounted on the end of the plunger (14). When the impacter (10) strikes the insulation (22) at a point to be tested, the load cell (12) measures the force of the impact and the precise time interval during which the hammer head (16) is in contact with the insulation (22). This information is transmitted as an electrical signal (20) to a load cell amplifier (28) where the signal (20) is conditioned and then transmitted to a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analyzer (34). The FFT analyzer (34) produces energy spectral density curves (power plotted against frequency in Hertz) which are displayed on a video screen (39). An operator, by observing the frequency point at which the curve terminates, may determine the quality of the bond. Specifically, the termination frequency of the energy spectral density curve may be compared with a predetermined empirical scale to determine whether a high quality bond, good bond, or debond is present at the point of impact. For future reference and use, data from the FFT analyzer (34) are recorded on a magnetic disk (41) and/or a hard copy is produced by a printer (43).