Granted Patent B2

US 12,703,158 · App. 18/231,402 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Inventors: Matthew T. Giaraffa (Golden, CO); William B. Montague (Denver, CO)

Assignee: ASTRO TECH CO., LTD.

B29C70/465B29C33/505B29C70/081B29C70/44B29C70/46B32B3/266B32B27/08B32B27/34B29K2077/00B29K2101/12B29K2105/12B29K2307/04B29L2031/3091B32B2262/106B32B2605/00Y10T428/24273Y10T428/24322

Abstract

Claims (14)

1 . A structure, comprising:

a first composite structure component, including:

a plurality of sheets of thermoplastic material, wherein at least some of the sheets include a plurality of fibers;

an outside edge; and

an inside edge formed exclusively of the thermoplastic material alone, being continuous and formed in a closed loop; and

a second composite structure component, including:

a plurality of sheets of the thermoplastic material, wherein at least some of the sheets include a plurality of fibers;

an outside edge; and

an inside edge formed exclusively of the thermoplastic material alone, being continuous and formed in a closed loop,

wherein the inside edge of the first composite structure component is edge-to-edge welded to the inside edge of the second composite structure component, and the outside edge of the first composite structure component is edge-to-edge welded to the outside edge of the second composite structure component, forming welded joints; and

wherein an interior volume expands between adjacent interior surfaces of the first and second composite structure components and between the inside edges and the outside edges that are edge-to-edge welded.

2 . The structure of claim 1 , further comprising a first auxiliary aperture formed in the first composite structure component.

3 . The structure of claim 2 , further comprising a second auxiliary aperture formed in the second composite structure component.

4 . The structure of claim 3 , wherein the first auxiliary aperture is adjacent to the second auxiliary aperture.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (185)