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:
Apr. 10, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 07, 1998
Akira Inanobe, Toyohashi, JP;
Yasuyuki Yoshihara, Toyohashi, JP;
Akira Iwamura, Toyohashi, JP;
Fumiaki Seta, Hirakata, JP;
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
The apparatus comprises a reticulating machine (,) for simultaneously producing in metal sheet (,) of strip form a plurality of slits (,) disposed in a continuous and zigzag arrangement extending in the lengthwise direction thereof, and an expanding machine (,) for expanding in the lateral direction the metal sheet (,) in which slits (,) have been formed in order to produce a lozenge-shaped mesh configuration. The expanding machine (,) comprises two endless conveyor elements (,) disposed at the two lateral edges of the metal sheet (,), chuck members (,), a plurality of which are provided in an equally-spaced arrangement to the endless conveyor elements (,), and a center guide member (,) for conveying the metal sheet (,) while guiding the transverse central portion such that it is deflected to one side in the direction of thickness of the metal sheet (,). The chuck members (,) grip the lateral edges of the metal sheet (,) in which slits (,) have been formed, thereby expanding the metal sheet (,) while conveyed by the endless conveyor elements (,).