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:
Mar. 09, 1999
Filed:
Sep. 18, 1997
Ralph Talmadge Bentley, II, Belews Creek, NC (US);
The Whitaker Corporation, Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A transfer tray or tube assembly 2 is formed by an upper thermoformed sheet 4 that is bonded to a lower thermoformed sheet 6. Each sheet includes protrusions that form interior walls 10 and exterior walls 12 that in turn define channels 8 in which a number of components, such as electrical connectors, can be loaded, unloaded, stored and transferred or shipped. The thermoformed sheets 4 and 6 are bonding along adjoining dual wall sections that form the interior and exterior walls 10 and 12. Discrete bonds 34 are formed at upper and lower levels along flat abutting surfaces at the tops and bottoms of staggered trapezoidal segments 18 and 20 on the top and bottom sheets. These spaced apart discrete bonds 34 reduce warping and bowing due to stressed induced by RF bonds or welds. Interior walls 10 are joined by continuous bonds 36 that are confined to the intersection of a male ridge 42 on one member with a recessed female section 38 on the other member. Ribs 40 defining the recessed female section 38 isolated stresses induced by the bond so that the sidewalls of the channels 8 are not distorted. Multiple discrete bonds, spaced apart and on different levels, and dual walls each reduce distortion of the trays 2 and of the channels or tracks.