ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,226,964, issued on Feb. 18, was assigned to UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK (Limerick, Ireland).
"In and relating to composite manufacturing" was invented by Gearoid Clancy (Limerick, Ireland), Ronan O'Higgins (Limerick, Ireland) and Paul Weaver (Limerick, Ireland).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A spreading apparatus for use with fibre-reinforced composite tapes, and related methods are disclosed. The spreading apparatus comprises an input side to receive an incoming tape to be spread, and an output side from which tape is delivered after spreading. The apparatus further comprises a tape heater (150, 250, 650) to in use apply heat to a tape; and a...