Abstract: A plywood panel is provided with a durable and highly weather-proof surface and a plurality of embossed parallel grooves therein for enhancing its appearance. A metal caul plate is formed with the series of spaced apart ridges corresponding to desired grooves in the panel. A moist, spongy fibrous web is placed between the surface of the plywood panel and the surface of the caul plate, with an adhesive coating on either the panel or on the web surface facing the panel. The assembly of the caul plate and the plywood panel with the web therebetween is inserted into a hot press and subjected to heat and pressure and the web is firmly adhesively secured to the panel. The web, as well as the adhesive used for securing the web onto the panel, contains a quantity of thermo-setting phenolic resin so that the covered surface of the panel is durable and highly weather-proof. The original plywood panel may be of low quality and grade, having surface defects and blemishes, all of which are concealed by the covering web.

Abstract: Curved sandwich panels having a plastic foam core are prepared by providing a flexibilized foam core, laminating inner and outer skins to the core. The outer skin is laminated to the core at locations other than where the panel will be curved, bending the panel to the desired shape and laminating the outer layer to the core.

Abstract: A process for producing an expansion joint cover is provided for structures which comprises a substantially planar strip of flexible material with an insulating material affixed thereto, wherein the flexible planar strip has lateral portions extending beyond the insulating material with a means therein to retain mechanically a rigid reinforcing member to fixed elements of the building structure.

Abstract: A method of and device for interconnecting individual profiled plates to be connected to each other end-to-end, and a structural connection effected thereby, according to which the plates to be interconnected are aligned in end-to-end relationship and a sheet metal section withdrawn from a roll of sheet metal strip material, or a pre-profiled sheet metal part is placed across the ends to be interconnected of profiled plates whereupon a ram is moved relative to the sheet metal section or profiled sheet metal part to press the sheet metal section or sheet metal part into the profiled portion of the profiled plates and the sheet metal section now profiled or the pre-profiled sheet metal part is connected to the profiled plates.

Abstract: Buoyancy members in the form of a segment of a hollow cylinder are produced by providing a cylindrical mold having two longitudinally extending flanges spaced apart by not more than 180.degree.

Abstract: A one-use bottle-shaped container has a cylindrical shell portion, a base portion which has an inturned flange continuous with the shell portion, a central disc sealed to the flange and a bottleneck-shaped upper portion terminating in an opening considerably smaller than the cross-sectional area of the cylindrical portion.

Abstract: A process of wrapping a substrate to insulate or protect it, wherein a tape comprising a cross-linked copolymer derived from an ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon and a carboxylic acid ester having ethylenic unsaturation is wrapped around the substrate, and subsequently shrunk. Although the tape is cross-linked, it nevertheless fuses sufficiently to bond to itself to form an integral structure. The substrate can if desired be removed, the tape serving as the inner layer to a hose.

Abstract: An improved process and resultant composition for covering golf balls with polyurethane is disclosed. Either the prepolymers or the curing agents are selected to have different rates of reaction so that a partial cure can be made to form a ball half shell whereafter the half shell can be disposed about the golf ball core and finished cured.

Abstract: Shaped insulation material is formed by passing a porous envelope containing insulation material such as that comprising silica aerogel and an opacifier through a series of rolls followed by making the shape so formed rigid.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming a thermoplastic resin vessel including a bottom plate and at least two side plates is provided. The bottom plate or portion is applied to the surface of an inner mold by advancing a bottom mold carrying the bottom plate. The side plates or portions are formed along a concave surface of side molds and is then positioned around the inner mold to completely surround the inner mold to form a tube which holds the bottom plate therein. The outer mold is then removed and the vessel formed by the tube and bottom plate is then removed from the inner mold.

Abstract: A glass bottle having a body and a neck with a peripheral shoulder at the upper end of the body, and a paper jacket covering the bottle extending from above the shoulder at least to the heel of the bottle (where the wall of the body of the bottle merges with the bottom of the bottle) and covering the shoulder and body down to the heel to protect the bottle from weakening abrasion and scratches, and to contain fragments of the bottle in the event the bottle breaks. The jacket is constituted of waterproof paper, and may be secured in place on the bottle without any adhesive by shrinking. It may also be applied by means of an adhesive which is water-insoluble so that the bottle may be washed. In either case, the jacket may be preformed to such shape that it may be dropped on a bottle.

Abstract: An inexpensive, lightweight reflective panel for solar-thermal collector modules of the type including a parabolic reflector for reflecting incident solar radiation onto a fluid carrying conduit positioned along the focal axis of the reflector. A rigid, waterproof, honeycomb panel formed from paper and having a uniform thickness of parabolic shape supports a reflective material. Glass fiber cloth adhered to the outer panel surfaces adds to the panel's strength and rigidity. An adjustable support system suspends the reflective panel from the fluid carrying conduit and provides a means of adjusting panel curvature to precisely obtain the required parabolic shape.Methods of forming the panels are described which permit the panels to be formed at or near the site of their installation to obviate shipping problems and expense.

Abstract: A method of forming a flexible sheetlike structure such as an automotive head-liner by treating a sheet of fiberboard or other woodlike fibrous material with water at an elevated temperature to make the sheet sufficiently ductile to permit forming without tearing or blowing, and placing the water-treated sheet between heated dies to form the sheet to a compound curvature by the application of heat and pressure. The sheet may or may not be perforated. The method also includes finishing one side of the die-formed sheet by securing a decorative or sound-absorbing layer thereto. The sheet is placed on a support and the layer is applied over the adhesive coated upper surface of the sheet. A cover is draped over the support to provide an air seal over the layer and sheet and is drawn against the support by differential pressure, either pressure or vacuum to press the layer against the sheet and adhere the two together.

Abstract: A method of forming a reinforced rubber sheet useful for the lining of pipes, acid tanks, chimneys and the like, wherein a metal grid is interposed between adhesive surfaces of each of two rubber sheets, the rubber sheets overlapping the metal grid along all edges, evacuating the air from between the sheets to thereby draw them together and also to draw them into contact with the metal grid, thereby effecting adhesion between the adhesive surfaces of the two sheets of rubber and also between the rubber sheets and the metal grid.