Abstract: An article of footwear includes an upper including a chamber, a compressible component disposed within the chamber and operable between a relaxed state and a constricted state, a sole structure including a recess forming a cavity, and a pump device disposed within the cavity and fluidly coupled to the chamber, the pump device operable to transition the compressible component from the relaxed state to the constricted state by removing fluid from the chamber.

Abstract: Disclosed is a through-air dryer shower assembly disposed within the through-air dryer and enables efficient cleaning of the through-air dryer without having an operator enter the dryer. The shower may comprise an elongated shower conduit having a plurality of nozzles disposed thereon and may be affixed to a baffle disposed within the through-air dryer cylinder. The shower assembly is generally positioned to spray a pressurized stream of wash fluid against the interior surface of the dryer causing debris accumulated within the deck to flow through the structure to the outer surface for discharge.

Abstract: Disclosed is a through-air dryer shower assembly disposed within the through-air dryer and enables efficient cleaning of the through-air dryer without having an operator enter the dyer. The shower may comprise an elongated shower conduit having a plurality of nozzles disposed thereon and may be affixed to a baffle disposed within the through-air dryer cylinder. The shower assembly is generally positioned to spray a pressurized stream of wash fluid against the interior surface of the dryer causing debris accumulated within the deck to flow through the structure to the outer surface for discharge.

Abstract: A bonded structure including one or more substrates bonded together with a tackified amorphous poly-alpha-olefin adhesive composition. One method of making such a bonded structure is carried out by applying a tackified amorphous poly-alpha-olefin adhesive composition to one or more substrates at a temperature of about 170 degrees Celsius or lower, and joining the substrates to themselves or to one another. The bonded structure has a dynamic peel strength between about 400 and about 1000 grams per 25 millimeters. The bonding efficiency of the bonded structure renders the bonded structure suitable for incorporation into a variety of articles, including personal care products, health/medical products, and household/industrial product, for example.

Abstract: A bonded structure including one or more substrates bonded together with a tackified amorphous poly-alpha-olefin adhesive composition. One method of making such a bonded structure is carried out by applying a tackified amorphous poly-alpha-olefin adhesive composition to one or more substrates at a temperature of about 170 degrees Celsius or lower, and joining the substrates to themselves or to one another. The bonded structure has a dynamic peel strength between about 400 and about 1000 grams per 25 millimeters. The bonding efficiency of the bonded structure renders the bonded structure suitable for incorporation into a variety of articles, including personal care products, health/medical products, and household/industrial product, for example.

Abstract: A noise-damping composite is formed by providing a laminate of two metal layers separated by a much thinner viscoelastic layer which has an initial thickness of at least 1 mil., and then cold rolling the laminate to proportionally permanently reduce the thickness of each layer, until the thickness of the viscoelastic layer is less than 1 mil. and preferably less than 0.5 mil. The cold rolling may be through a set of adjustable rollers, and may be done in multiple passes with the rollers adjusted for each pass to further reduce the thickness. Alternatively, the laminate may be fed successively through a series of roller sets designed to successively reduce the thickness of the laminate.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for bonding a laminate formed of at least two layers of sheet material superimposed on one another with adhesive therebetween and moved along a path. The apparatus includes a first laminator having an upper plate assembly having a first low-friction laminate-contacting surface for contacting a first layer of the laminate, and an upper heat exchanger thermally coupled to the upper plate assembly. The first laminator also includes a lower plate assembly having a second low-friction laminate-contacting surface for contacting a second layer of the laminate, wherein the first and second laminate-contacting surfaces are disposed in opposed relationship for accommodating passage of the layers of the laminate therebetween, and a lower heat exchanger thermally coupled to the lower plate assembly.

Abstract: A noise damping composite includes a viscoelastic layer disposed between a pair of constraining metal layers, the viscoelastic layer including a pattern of adjacent stripes of different viscoelastic materials. Stripes of two or three different materials are disclosed. The viscoelastic layer can be applied in either liquid or solid form. In the former, it may be provided with mica platelets distributed throughout the layer.