Did You Know...
...that after Parker Brothers executives turned down the game of Monopoly because it had "52 fundamental errors" (including taking too long to play), a copy of the game wound up in the home of the company president who stayed up until 1 a.m. to finish playing it? He was so impressed by the game that the next day he wrote to inventor Charles Darrow and offered to buy it!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8037726 | Method for bending tubular articles with a relative ratio of the bending radius and the outer diameter of the finished pipe which is less than 3 Method for bending tubular articles with a relative ratio of the bending radius (R) and the outer diameter (D) of the finished pipe which is less than 3, comprising the following steps: forging an article made of material with a predefined composition depending on t... | 10/18/2011 |
| 7946146 | Hydroforming apparatus The invention relates to a device for the internal high-pressure forming of components from tubular workpieces, in particular microcomponents, comprising an at least two-part mould, in which a workpiece can be placed, and means for sealing and/or applying pressure t... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7937979 | Gravity fill system with pressure check valve A hydroform die includes a plurality of seal units to provide fluid to die cavities. The plurality of seal units each define a piston cylinder. A piston is located within the cylinder and is selectively moveable between an open and a closed position. Additionally, t... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7827839 | Profile element pipe for hydraulic bulging, hydraulic bulging device using the element pipe, hydraulic bulging method using the element pipe, and hydraulically bulged product According to a bulging device and a bulging method using a profile element pipe, for example, even when a profile steel pipe having a cross sectional shape varying in the axial direction as in a tapered pipe is hydraulically bulged, a bulging in which an internal pr... | 11/09/2010 |
| 7818986 | Multiple autofrettage A manufacturing method includes a first step of performing swage autofrettage on an object; a second step of heat soaking the object; and a third step of performing hydraulic autofrettage on the object. The second and third steps may be repeated one or more times. A... | 10/26/2010 |
| 7765842 | Method and device for applying a film piece to a can body The invention relates to a method for producing a can body (2) which is characterized in that a film piece (3c) is cut from a film web (3b), said film piece (3c) is wound up on a winding spindle (7) from its fr... | 08/03/2010 |
| 7757527 | Process and apparatus for manufacturing shaped containers A can shaping process in which container preforms (F) are mounted on a table (16) which is rotated so a preform is moved from an initial loading station (P1) to a molding station (P4). A molding unit (20) includes a two-part mold (20 | 07/20/2010 |
| 7726162 | Method of shaping container bodies and corresponding apparatus Method wherein a) a container (1, 6) is placed in a two halves mould (2) having an internal shaped wall (21), b) an internal pressure P of a fluid is build up so as to shape the skirt (12), is characterized in that an external pressure Pâ... | 06/01/2010 |
| 7661283 | Bulging method and apparatus A bulging apparatus has a heating station, a tube expanding station, a preforming station, and a main forming station. A straight tube as a workpiece is gripped by first holding mechanisms or second holding mechanisms, and delivered between the stations as the first... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7587920 | Hydro forming apparatus for making U-shaped products A hydro forming apparatus comprises a lower base; a lower mold mounted on the lower base and provided with an U-shaped lower cavity; an upper mold provided with a U-shaped upper cavity corresponding to the lower cavity and configured to be coupled with the lower mol... | 09/15/2009 |
| 7464572 | Process for forming tubular member A process for forming a tubular member is provided which includes a pre-forming process for tube-expanding (bulge) forming and bending forming a tubular material using first and second molds and a final forming process for crush forming a preformed tube using a thir... | 12/16/2008 |
| 7441432 | Method and a production line for manufacturing a product by hydroforming A production line for the manufacture of a product through hydroforming, having a decoiler (11) for unrolling a steel strip (12) from a coil (13), a roll-forming unit (14) for folding the steel strip into a tube (16), a welding uni... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7426845 | Hydroforming apparatus and method of assembling same A hydroforming apparatus includes a hydroforming die member and a hydroforming press. A fastener couples the press to the die member, the fastener having a shaft and a shoulder. A spacer positioned on the fastener spaces the die member from the press. The shaft is s... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7409758 | Vibration damper systems for drilling with casing Apparatus and methods are provided for reducing drilling vibration during drilling with casing. In one embodiment, an apparatus for reducing vibration of a rotating casing includes a tubular body disposed concentrically around the casing, wherein tubular body is mov... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7392679 | Hydroform tube sealing assembly A hydroform seal assembly includes a seal housing and an annular nozzle carried by the seal housing and sized to insert into a tube end. A first actuator moves the seal housing to insert the nozzle. A plurality of jaws are carried by the seal housing and are movable... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7380429 | Tubular local expansion apparatus and method of locally expanding tubular member for vehicles An apparatus and method for locally expanding tubular member includes a pre-form die having a cavity with an expansion chamber therein to receive a portion of a tubular blank between ends thereof. The apparatus also includes a bladder apparatus for insertion in the ... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7370504 | Method of making variable thickness tubular member for vehicles A method of making a variable thickness tubular member for a vehicle includes the steps of providing a tubular member and positioning a mandrel inside of the tubular member. The method also includes the steps of hydroforming the tubular member into a variable thickn... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7363690 | Method and apparatus for forming a mono-diameter wellbore casing A mono-diameter wellbore casing. The mono-diameter wellbore casing is formed by plastically deforming and radially expanding a first tubular member within a wellbore. A second tubular member is then plastically deformed and radially expanded in overlapping relation ... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7360384 | Apparatus and method for hydroshearing and hydrotrimming for hydroforming die An apparatus and method for hydroshearing and hydrotrimming for a hydroforming die includes a cutting insert fixed relative to the hydroforming die. The apparatus and method also includes a disposable insert fixed relative to the hydroforming die. The apparatus and ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7360604 | Expander system for stepwise expansion of a tubular element An expander system for radially expanding a tubular element having an unexpanded portion of a first inner diameter, the expander system including an expander movable between a radially retracted mode and a radially expanded mode, the expander being operable to expan... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7340933 | Stretch forming method for a sheet metal skin segment having compound curvatures A method of forming an aircraft nacelle nose lip segment. The method includes bending a sheet of metal into a substantially U-shaped workpiece having a spanwise axis, opposed first and second ends, and opposed first and second edges. The method further includes plac... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7337641 | Hydroformed tubular members and method of hydroforming tubular members for vehicles A hydroformed tubular member and method of hydroforming the hydroformed tubular member for a vehicle includes the steps of providing a tubular blank and positioning the tubular blank within a die. The method also includes the steps of hydroforming the tubular blank ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7328602 | Pipe expanding device Disclosed is a pipe expanding device for expanding a thin pipe with a small diameter using elasticity and compressing and bending characteristics of a spring. Steel wires whose opposite contact sections are processed with a slope to be engaged in parallel so that co... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7325307 | Installation for shaping a hollow blade A hollow blade is shaped by superplastic inflation of a blank made up of welded-together sheets. A die comprising two hollow shapes clamping the outline of the blank is placed inside an autoclave-forming enclosure in order to subject the blank to superplastic inflat... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7313939 | Hydroforming machine and a method of hydroforming A hydroforming machine characterized by a die 2 having an opening on the upper surface and a fluid tank 2a filled with fluid, a holder 3 being able to hold a periphery part between the die 2 and itself, a punch 4 being movab... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7313940 | High-pressure shaping system A high-pressure system for hydroshaping a hollow workpiece has a lower die and an upper die vertically shiftable above the lower die and forming therewith a cavity shaped to hold the workpiece. An upper actuating element bears downward via a vertically compressible ... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7296449 | Dry hydraulic can shaping A method for shaping an aerosol container (10) to a desired body contour. A container body (12) is formed into a cylindrical shape and installed into a mold (30) whose inner surface defines the desired body contour. A bladder (74) is fitt... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7293442 | Method for hydroforming a ring-shaped tubular structure A method is provided for hydroforming a ring-shaped tubular structure such as a door opening for a vehicle body. The method includes providing a ring-shaped tubular blank having a hollow sealed interior, capturing the ring shaped tubular blank in a hydroforming die ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7290425 | Gripping apparatus and method A quick change gripping apparatus for gripping a workpiece having a profile. The apparatus includes a cylindrical housing having a first end and a second end. The cylindrical housing also includes an inner feature having a tapered wall. The housing also has a bottom... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7287406 | Transition forming machine An apparatus and method including a die assembly and tooling, which includes a draw bolt and coaxially disposed expandable element. When control of the apparatus is initiated the die assembly and draw bolt retract or move down over the work piece until the die assem... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7284403 | Apparatus and method for performing a hydroforming process An apparatus and method for performing a hydroforming process cause either or both of the opposed end portions of the workpiece to be deformed to achieve desired shapes therein. Initially, a workpiece having a pair of end portions is disposed within a die cavity def... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7275781 | Fluid forming of oriented thermoplastics The invention provides a method of forming structural components for automotive vehicles from elongated tubular blanks. A longitudinally oriented tubular blank comprised of a thermoplastic material is provided. The tubular blank is fluidformed in a fluid forming cav... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7266982 | Hydroforming device and method An apparatus (10, 110) and method to form a workpiece (32, 132) into a useful product (28, 128) using a pressurized fluid (14), also termed as “hydroforming”. The workpiece may be a tube or may be one or a plurality of sheets of a mat... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7257982 | Apparatus for forming a beam member used as a torsion beam for the rear wheel suspension of an automobile An apparatus for forming a beam member for a torsion beam in a rear wheel suspension system of an automobile wherein said apparatus includes top and bottom dies for forming a U-shaped or V-shaped section and an extension section of the beam member, upper and lower p... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7254980 | Gas supply tube and method of making same A metal gas-feed tube for a head air bag automotive vehicle has a sleeve formed on a bent end thereof to fit onto a connecting fitting of a gas generator. That sleeve is formed in part from an unbent region of the tube by pressing a mandrel into the end of the tube ... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7251972 | Method and device for reshaping tubes A method and an apparatus for reshaping a tube having an initial outside diameter, an initial wall thickness, and an initial length to form a tube have a reshaped outside diameter, a reshaped length, and a reshaped wall thickness, wherein at least one of the reshape... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7251973 | Hydroforming apparatus A hydroforming apparatus for hydroforming a workpiece. The apparatus includes a die in which a die cavity is located, and an outer ring subassembly. The outer ring subassembly is movable relative to the die, and includes a ring and one or more first cam segments att... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7249481 | Process for forming a hydroformed automotive component with integrated weld flange A process for forming a hydroformed automotive component with an integrally formed attachment bracket or weld flange begins with a tubular blank manufactured through a roll-forming process to convert sheet metal into a tubular body portion having excess parent sheet... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7249394 | Vehicular wiper device having motor and internal space A vehicular wiper device includes a wiper motor secured to a crank arm, a first pivot holder rotatably supporting a wiper arm and a first pivot lever, a second pivot holder rotatably supporting a wiper arm and a second pivot lever, and a link structure connected to ... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7207203 | Methods and apparatus for forming a workpiece A method of forming a workpiece using an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a first stage including a die fixture, a die actuator coupled to the die fixture, and a holding member configured to cooperate with the die fixture to hold the workpiece. The meth... | 04/24/2007 |
