Laminar structures comprising a fiber reinforced layer bonded to an expandable filler containing layer to provide improved flexural stiffness to weight ratio at lower fiber loading; a process for the manufacture of the laminar structures in which the material are selected so that migration of the expandable filler into the fiber structure of the fiber reinforced layer as they expand is minimized or prevented.

The disclosure describes methods of fabricating a single-piece housing for an electronic device using an injection molding process. Illustrative fabrication processes describe variations of positioning internal components of an electronic device into a mold enclosure and injecting a foam material to produce a single-piece housing that surrounds the internal components. The single-piece housing may be fabricated to provide the electronic device with at least some buoyancy, as well a means to expel thermal radiation emanating from internal components. Further, the fabricated single-piece housing provides enough structural rigidity to protect internal components of the electronic device from damage, while retaining some malleability to flex without damage when an external pressure is applied.

Laterally-coalesced foam slabs and methods and apparatus, including foaming dies, for making and using such foam slabs.

There is described a method of creating a hinge in a body of expandable material, said body being substantially flat and having at least two planar regions connected by said hinge to facilitate folding of the planar regions about said hinge, comprising: expanding said expandable material to form said body; creating a region of excess expandable material in said body adjacent said hinge; and compressing said region of excess expandable material into the hinge of said body after the expandable material has fused to create a hinge having a concentrated volume of expanded material when compared to said at least two planar regions of said body.

There is provided a vehicle seat including a seatback frame including: a first base member formed of a thin plate member made of resin; a second base member formed of a thin plate member made of resin and disposed facing the first base member; a pass-through portion that is formed to at least one of the first base member or the second base member, and that enables insertion of an injection nozzle for injecting a foaming liquid for a foamed body; and a core section that is configured by the foamed body, that is disposed between the first base member and the second base member, and that is adhered to the first base member and the second base member.

The present invention is directed to a deep draw microcellularly foamed polymeric container comprising a polymeric sidewall integrally connected to a polymeric base along a bottom edge. The polymeric sidewall and base are contiguous with each other and define a shape of an open top container. The polymeric sidewall and base have a contiguous inner microcellular foam structure (having average cell diameters ranging from about 5 to about 100 microns) surrounded by a smooth outer skin layer integrally connected therewith. The polymeric sidewall defines a container height and a top opening, wherein the top opening defines a top opening width, and wherein the polymeric base defines a container base width, and wherein the area defined by the top opening is greater than the area defined by the polymeric base, and wherein the ratio of the container height (h) to the top opening width (w) is greater than about 1:1 (h:w).

The present invention is directed to a deep draw microcellularly foamed polymeric container comprising a polymeric sidewall integrally connected to a polymeric base along a bottom edge. The polymeric sidewall and base are contiguous with each other and define a shape of an open top container. The polymeric sidewall and base have a contiguous inner microcellular foam structure (having average cell diameters ranging from about 5 to about 100 microns) surrounded by a smooth outer skin layer integrally connected therewith. The polymeric sidewall defines a container height and a top opening, wherein the top opening defines a top opening width, and wherein the polymeric base defines a container base width, and wherein the area defined by the top opening is greater than the area defined by the polymeric base, and wherein the ratio of the container height (h) to the top opening width (w) is greater than about 1:1 (h:w).

An athletic protector, such as an athletic cup, with regions formed of the same compositional material, which is more rigid in one such region than in another such region.

Presented are manufacturing systems, methods, and devices for forming footwear using scrap or waste plastic materials. A method for manufacturing an article of footwear, such as an athletic shoe, begins with receiving a batch of recycled plastic, which may include thermoplastic elastomers or ethylene-vinyl acetate, and grinding the batch of recycled plastic material. The ground recycled material is processed, for example, by adding a foaming agent that activates at elevated temperatures. The processed recycled material is placed into the internal cavity of a final mold that is shaped like a segment of the footwear, such as a unitary sole structure. To form the footwear segment, the processed recycled material is heated past the threshold activation temperature of the foaming agent such that the foaming agent causes the recycled material to expand and fill the internal cavity of the final mold. The formed footwear segment is then extracted from the mold.

The present invention contemplates a method of forming a member comprising injection molding a first layer into a first tool cavity, overmolding a second layer into a second tool cavity selected from the group consisting of an expandable layer, a sealing layer, an acoustic layer, and adhesive layer, a reinforcement layer, a fastening layer, a second carrier layer, and any combination thereof, overmolding a third layer into the second tool cavity selected from the group consisting of an expandable layer, a sealing layer, an acoustic layer, an adhesive layer, a reinforcement layer, a fastening layer, a second carrier layer, and any combination thereof. The first layer, the second layer, and the third layer may be molded in one injection molding tool and the second and third layer may be segregated from one another prior to any overmolding steps.