Abstract: A process for fabricating manufactured articles from fiberglass reinforced thermoplastic sheets, which consists of forming said plates while they are heated at their melting point and coupled with a barrier film, by either blow-moulding or thermoforming.

Abstract: A die construction for forming integral hinges (60) for a blow molded carrying case. An edge of the main cavity of a lower die (12) of a blow molding die pair is provided at one peripheral wall portion (40) with sloping channels (38). A core pin (32) extends across and spans the sloping channels. The upper die (10) is provided at one peripheral portion with semi-cylindrical recesses (22) coaxial with the core pin and of the same length as the width of the sloping channel. A heated parison (46, 48) is placed (FIG. 1) between the two dies. With die closing and with the introduction of pressurized air (52) into the parison, the parison is deformed. At the same time, the pressurized air also causes one of the plastic parison sheets (46) of the parison to deform into the semi-cylindrical recess, and the other parison sheet (48) to deform into the sloping channel and also around the core pin. The two parison sheets fuse together around the core pin upon complete closing of the two dies (FIG.

Abstract: Reinforced twin-sheet thermoformed articles are produced by heating first and second sheets of thermoplastic material; forming the sheets in molds; heating a reinforcing insert of thermoplastic material; placing the heated insert on the first sheet in its mold at the location to be reinforced; pressing the second sheet into contact with the heated first sheet and the heated insert to form the insert between the sheets so that a fusion of the thermoplastic sheets and the insert takes place to produce a reinforced section of the article having a desired shape and thickness. Alternatively, a heated quantity of thermoplastic liquid material may be extruded or injected between the first and second sheets within the first and second molds either by inserting the liquid material before the molds are closed or by injecting it through one of the molds.

Abstract: An improved method for the fabrication of lightweight ceramic matrix composite panels, utilizing pressure forming with floating tooling to shape integral stiffeners such as raised integral surface channels on panel surfaces. The consolidation of green composite material against refractory floating tools by hot hydrostatic or isostatic (gas) pressing, followed by removal of the tooling, yields a strong, rigid, yet lightweight ceramic structure.

Abstract: A method for the manufacture of panel heat exchangers from thermoplastic polyamides. At least one sheet is coated with a coating that facilitates bonding of the polymer to itself under the influence of heat. Two sheets, at least one of which has been coated, are placed between moulds in a press. At least one of the moulds has grooves corresponding to the pattern of fluid flow passages to provided in the panel heat exchanger. The moulds are heated and an inert gas e.g. nitrogen, is applied and passed through the fluid flow passages, to assist in the formation of the passages and to remove any voltatile material from the coating. The preferred coating is benzyl alcohol, phenol and polyamide. The heat exchangers may be used in a variety of end-uses, especially in automotive end-uses.

Abstract: A method for making fiberglass articles includes steps for forming fiberglass sections each having a smooth and an unfinished surface and a raised portion, placing unfinished surfaces wet with bonding agent in contact, thus defining a hollow interior channel adjacent to the raised portion, and evacuating the hollow interior channel to compressively hold the sections together while the fiberglass cures to form a single, integral fiberglass part having a smooth finish on all surfaces.

Abstract: An insulated panel for a domestic or household appliance is formed by a process in which two sheets of plastic material are extruded from a co-extrusion die and moved directly into a die thermoforming fixture. When the open die members are closed, the edges of the two sheets are sealed together to form a hollow panel and the walls of the panel are forced outwardly to conform to the shape of the die members. After the hollow panel is trimmed it is moved to a foam machine preferably while still contained in the thermoforming fixture so that foam insulation is inserted into the hollow panel while the walls of the panel are supported by the die members so that these walls are not deformed while the foam insulation is added.

Abstract: An apparatus for deep drawing a bowl from a blank of deep-drawable plastic material is provided comprising deep drawing tools, and cooperating jaws including an outside heating jaw and a forward feed heating jaw. The deep drawing tools and cooperating jaws are movable relative to each other to advance a blank of deep-drawable material for preheating, forming, and deep drawing a bowl open at one end therefrom. The outside heating jaw includes at least one outside suction plate to retain the blank, and intermittently moves in a first direction into and out of cooperating relationship with the forward feed heating jaw. The deep drawing tool also intermittently moves parallel to the first direction into and out of cooperating relationship with the forward feed heating jaw. The forward feed heating jaw includes a plurality of main suction plates secured to a heatable carrier to retain and heat the blank as it advances thereon.

Abstract: A customized shock-absorbing wrapper band comprising at least two rows of gas-filled cushions of arbitrary shape and size formed by joining two flexible webs, at least one of which is thermoformable, and pressurizing the thermoformed recesses when sealing such by the other web in a sealing station of a thermoforming, roller operated machine.

Abstract: A method for twin sheet forming layers high heat distortion temperature thermoplastic materials. The process employs a low heat distortion temperature thermoplastic material layer disposed between the layers of high heat distortion temperature material layer to permit adhesion therebetween at moderate temperatures to reduce thermal degradation. The structures made therefrom are useful as aircraft ducting.

Abstract: A foot-support element such as an insole or a part of an insole is provided with a checkvalve through which it can be selectively inflated, the top and bottom walls of the insole being bridged by partitions which retain the shape upon pressurization. The insole is formed with upper and lower parts in upper and lower die members working together with an intermediate die member which, upon removal, allows the upper and lower die members to be brought together to fuse the parts of the insole together.

Abstract: A method of forming a twin sheet plastic pallet formed of an upper and a lower sheet and utilizing an upper male mold having downwardly extending leg protrusions and a lower female mold having complementary upwardly opening leg cavities. The method includes introducing the lower sheet between the spaced upper and lower molds, vacuum forming the lower sheet to the molding surfaces of the upper mold, vacuum forming the lower sheet to the molding surfaces of the lower mold, introducing the upper sheet between the spaced molds, vacuum forming the upper sheet to the molding surfaces of the upper mold, and bringing the upper and lower molds together with their leg portions in nested relation to fuse the upper and lower sheets together along their peripheries and at the interfaces their nested leg portions to form the final pallet.

Abstract: A method for forming finished coverstocks includes automatically heating and indexing slightly overlapped rough seams of coverstock segments with respect to a single thermoforming tool that automatically opens and closes to vacuum fold the rough seams interiorly of the tool and thereafter the folds are pinched to form a finished styling line on the class A surface of the coverstock. An apparatus is provided in which a single thermoforming tool has relatively moveable mold parts that shape the coverstock and include an expandable joint line configured to fold the rough seams and further including slide members responsive to closure of the mold parts to provide space to accommodate the fold for pinching it off with respect to the class A surface. The product of the invention includes multiple coverstocks with finished styling lines formed by pinched off folds on the hidden side of the coverstock.

Abstract: A method of making tennis balls by a single core part and fabric piece bonding step is disclosed wherein an assembly of core parts, including a pair of hemispheric core halves, and fabric cover pieces, including a pair of figure eight fabric dumbbells, are assembled to one another to a subassembly of core parts held together by a dried but uncured first curable cement, the fabric pieces are held about the core subassembly by a second dried but uncured cement and a third curable cement is provided between the fabric pieces to form the exterior ball seam. The assembly of core and cover parts and pieces thus held together by the tackiness of dried but uncured cements is then placed within a snugly fitting mold and cured in the presence of heat to bond the core parts to one another, the fabric cover pieces to the core and the fabric piece edges to one another to a completed ball.

Abstract: An improved packaging method for producing trays for packaging of food.

Abstract: The apparatus includes a first female mold member defining a mold cavity for receiving a plastisol skin or layer. A second mold member or slide is positioned with a surface thereon contiguous with the surface of the mold cavity. The surface of the second mold member receives and holds thereon a portion of the plastisol skin extending from the mold cavity. A third mold member, such as a mold core, positions a rigid insert in the mold cavity with an insert surface or edge adjacent the portion of the plastisol skin on the second mold member. The second mold member includes passages for directing fluid pressure against the portion of skin thereon to fold it over the adjacent insert edge. A fourth mold member, such as a mold lid, is movable toward the second and third mold members for pressing the folded-over skin against the insert during foam formation between the skin and insert.

Abstract: The present application is concerned with an extrusion process for an elongated stiff but bendable plastic article which finds particular utility in highway delineators. The article has a central lens shape in the cross-section perpendicular to its major axis which is formed by joining two sheets along both of their longitudinal edges. The sheets both have parallel longitudinal edges and are configured in an arc in their shorter dimension. A reverse radius is provided in each longitudinal edge just before it joins the similar edge of the other sheet to allow the article to be bent 90.degree. across its major axis in the plane of its minor axis without significant plastic deformation. The article is constructed by pressing the cooled edges of thermoplastic sheets that can sustain substantial elastic deformation.

Abstract: A method of operating a vacuum-forming machine and the machine which operates by this method, in which once the mold halves are closed on the foil webs for vacuum drawing and fusion of the vacuum drawn container halves come together to produce a hollow article, the mold halves move at the velocity of the web to a lower position spaced from the upper position by a distance sufficient to permit cooling of the molded articles. A spring or other force-storing element is stressed during this movement so that when the mold opens at the lower position, it is driven upwardly at a substantially higher velocity to return to the starting position.

Abstract: The process for the production of double-walled mouldings for the reduction of sound in vehicles and engines in general by means of a single pressing operation consists in introducing into a compression mould a double package, each individual package consisting of a layer of prepolymer fibres and a foil of thermoplastics material. The foils of the individual packages are situated facing one another and a medium under pressure is blown in between these foils, in order to cause each package layer to be pressed against the internal face of the corresponding half-mould. The compression mould is heated to a temperature which is sufficient to cause complete melting of said foil and complete polymerization of said prepolymer fibres.

Abstract: A system for producing generally concavo-convex synthetic plastic containers and like articles, such as picnic plates wherein a mold station has a stationary intermediate mold with projecting male mold parts on one side and directly opposite recessed female mold cavities in alignment therewith on the other side. A first movable mold, on the side of the intermediate mold having the male mold parts is provided with recessed mating female mold cavities of the same dimensions as the said cavities in the intermediate mold and a second movable mold on the other side of the intermediate mold has aligned projecting male mold parts mating with the cavities in the intermediate mold. A pair of heated, moldable synthetic plastic webs are advanced in unison to opposite sides of the intermediate mold and are later removed in unison from the mold station. The heated sections of the webs are moved in unison to opposite sides of the intermediate mold when the said first and second movable molds are separated therefrom.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for the production of a hollow article comprised of a biaxially oriented thermoplastic resinous material, comprising the steps of heating a sheet of thermoplastic material to a temperature above the orientation temperature of the thermoplastic material; clamping an area of the heated thermoplastic sheet between a first mold half and a second mold half, the first mold half containing a pre - form mold surface having a configuration predetermined to provide for uniform wall thickness of the hollow article to be formed, the surface being at a temperature which is not higher than the orientation temperature of the thermoplastic material, and the second mold half having a cavity which corresponds to the shape of the hollow article to be produced; forcing the heated thermoplastic sheet by pressure differential into the first mold half against the surface; maintaining the thermoplastic sheet in contact with the surface for a period of time sufficient to bring the thermoplastic sheet to its ori

Abstract: An artificial heart valve having thin, seamless leaflets which converge to the center of a frame from the frame's inner wall. The leaflets each have a convex outflow surface and a concave inflow surface. The leaflets meet along adjacent edges to form cusps. Sinus valsalvae sections of the valve are formed as rounded recesses defined in the valve frame's inner wall as continuous curved profiles of the respective leaflet concave surfaces. The valve is fabricated by vacuum molding techniques whereby layers of elastomer are vacuum formed to comprise the leaflet and sinus valsalvae portions. In one embodiment, the leaflets are all formed from two or more layers of elastomer which are cut to define the leaflet edges or commissures. One elastomer layer extends along the frame recess to provide continuity for each leaflet and its sinus valsalvae. The resulting structure has no rims or seams in the inflow or outflow paths.

Abstract: A method of, and apparatus for, forming thin-walled synthetic plastic containers and like articles wherein areas are stretched out of the plane of heated thermoplastic material a portion of the axial length of the containers or articles to be formed to form top and bottom preforms, each with an open and a closed end; each preform, while still in the webs, is further axially and radially stretched, at a temperature conducive to orientation of the molecular and crystalline structure of the material, to a greater length still less than the axial length of the container or article to be formed; the preforms are severed from the webs to provide open ended top and bottom sections; and the open ends of pairs of top and bottom preforms are assembled and welded together to form the containers or articles.

Abstract: A process of making a hollow article from polymeric material is taught. The article is molded in two parts. The two parts are caused to remain in their respective exterior molds. If the hollow article is to be filled with a desired material, a measured amount of filler material is added to one of the formed parts. The exterior molds are brought into opposed position and sealing relationship. The space between the exterior molds is purged with a purging gas and subjected to a partial vacuum. The exterior molds are then closed and subjected to a clamping pressure to join the part halves together and remove flash from the joint. Portions at least of the exterior molds are heated and then cooled. The exterior molds are then opened, and the finished filled article is removed therefrom.

Abstract: A ventricular assist device and a method of manufacturing the ventricular assist device. The device is generally flat in shape and gently curved so that it may be comfortably implanted under the skin or inside the chest of a patient. The device includes a housing comprising an atrial blood chamber, an atrial compliance chamber, a ventricular blood chamber and a ventricular pumping chamber. Blood is introduced through an inlet port into the atrial blood chamber. An atrial compliance membrane within the housing separates the atrial blood chamber from the atrial compliance chamber and responds to the changing volume of blood. The ventricular blood chamber receives the blood from the atrial blood chamber through a flap valve which is formed as an integral extension of the compliance membrane.

Abstract: This relates to the forming of containers and like hollow articles from sheets or webs of thermoplastic material. Two webs or sheets are simultaneously acted upon by way of a forming apparatus which includes a reciprocating clamp first cooperable with one outer platen and then the other in sequence wherein, while a first web or sheet is being formed within a plurality of mold cavities to define a plurality of hollow articles such as containers, the other sheet or web may be stripped from its respective mold set and a new sheet or a new portion of a sheet or web may be advanced into position for molding. The forming apparatus may be constructed in a manner wherein the web portions which are to be formed may be billowed away from the mold cavities as an initial step in the stretching and orientation of the thermoplastic material.

Abstract: A method for producing a hollow synthetic resin article, which comprises opening a split mold having an inner molding surface with a contour conforming to the configuration of the desired article, feeding a heated molding material of a thermoplastic synthetic resin in the form of a tube or two parallel-laid sheets into a space between the opposing mold members of the split mold, applying a negative pressure to vacuum suction holes provided in the molding surfaced and the parting surfaces of the split mold to vacuum-form the molding material, and while the negative pressure is being applied or after the application of the negative pressure is stopped, closing the mold to form the molding material into the final desired configuration.

Abstract: A re-sealable hollow body container is disclosed together with the method of making it. The container is made with a preformed neck from a flat piece of plastic sheet or film.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a raised relief, illuminated globe includes printing a hemispherical map design on a flat vinyl plastic sheet, forming the vinyl plastic sheet into a substantially hemispherical shape, positioning the hemispherically formed sheet in a mold cavity, positioning a mold core on the back side of the sheet, injection molding a styrene backing for the hemispherical shaped sheet to conform the sheet with the mold cavity including relief areas defined in the cavity wall, and removing the molded hemisphere from the mold. A second molded hemisphere is produced in substantially the same manner and is attached to the first hemisphere to form a complete globe. The printed map design of the globe is positioned in the mold cavity to insure that the relief areas are properly positioned with respect to the design.

Abstract: A thermoplastic cylindrical clamp is manufactured by heating a flat sheet of thermoplastic material, thermoforming the softened sheet over a mold having two parallel and semicylindrical shapes with a narrow planar space between them and a coplanar flange surrounding, trimming the thermoformed sheet so the semicylinders are open at each end, locally heating the narrow planar portion between the semicylinders to the softening point, bending the softened portion so the semicylinders form a complete cylinder and cooling the part in the cylindrical shape.

Abstract: A method of molding a tubular laminate comprising joining flows of a plurality of thermoplasticized resins together to prepare a laminated composite flow having two side edges, and then passing the composite flow having two side edges through an annular extrusion die to abut both side edges of the respective layers to each other in the die, thereby forming an integrated tubular flow.

Abstract: A method is provided for rapidly distributing mixed gases throughout a partially evacuated ball mold. The invention is particularly useful in the pressurizing of tennis ball centers with a mixture of air and a low permeability gas. By this invention, the distribution of the low permeability gas throughout the mold can be accomplished by first partially evacuating air from the mold then injecting the mixed gases into the mold.

Abstract: A process and a device are disclosed for forming a tennis ball which comprises the formation of two semispherical bowls in crude elastomeric material each having on its border a structural shape that is deformed by compression when the two semispherical bowls are pressed one against the other while a depressurization is effected in the joining zone of the two semispherical bowls on the outside of them.

Abstract: A double wall plastic article and a method and apparatus for forming a double wall article with a pair of deformable thermoplastic sheets wherein the sheets are mounted, in face to face contiguous relation, on a single pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending rails. The rail supported, contiguously disposed sheets are heated to forming temperature and are then subjected to differential forming pressures via a pair of opposed molds which seal to the sheets to fuze perimetrically extending, opposed portions of the sheets and form the border of the article being formed. Differential pressure is then applied to a central portion of at least one of the sheets within the formed border to withdraw the central portion and form the article.