An automatic splicing apparatus and methods thereof are provided herein for splicing together two ends of a sheet of tire material on a tire building drum. The apparatus comprises a frame, a splicer foot assembly, and a splicer roller assembly. The frame is configured to support the apparatus relative to the drum. The splicer foot assembly and the splicer roller assembly are independently longitudinally translatable relative to the frame. The splicer foot assembly includes a splicer foot having forward lower preparation rollers and rearward lower splicer rollers, and upper preparation rollers configured to operate in coordination with the forward lower preparation rollers to pull the two ends of the sheet of tire material together over the splicer foot. The splicer roller assembly includes upper splicer rollers configured to act in coordination with the rearward lower splicer rollers to splice the two ends together.

A container may include a body assembly comprising a shell, an inner liner forming a storage compartment, a foam layer positioned between the shell and the inner liner, and an opening providing access to the storage compartment. The container may also include a lid assembly attached to the body assembly and configured to seal the opening. The lid assembly may include an upper inner liner, an upper insulating portion, and an upper shell portion, and the upper insulating portion may be positioned between the upper inner liner portion and the upper shell portion.

A respiratory apparatus may employ ultrasonic welds. The ultrasonic welding may be used to join a variety of headgear, mask and accessory components. This process may enhance comfort, fit and/or performance of the joined components and/or overall mask assembly. A component may be a single layer component such as a textile or fabric, or a composite or multiple layer component such as fabric and foam composites, or outer fabric layers and inner spacer fabrics. Further, a component may be a strap, some other headgear component, a mask component, an accessory component or the like.

A method of producing flexible polypropylene fabric bags with heat fused seams comprising providing fabric pieces, wherein each fabric piece has a coated side and an uncoated side; positioning fabric pieces so that a coated side of one fabric piece faces a coated side of another fabric piece; selecting an area of fabric to be joined for forming a seam or joint; applying heat to the area to be joined that is less than the melting point of the fabrics, for forming one or more seams or joints and wherein the heat fused seams or joints of a resulting polypropylene bag retains at least 85% of the fabric strength without using sewing machines.

A method of producing flexible polypropylene fabric bags with heat fused seams comprising providing fabric pieces, wherein each fabric piece has a coated side and an uncoated side; positioning fabric pieces so that a coated side of one fabric piece faces a coated side of another fabric piece; selecting an area of fabric to be joined for forming a seam or joint; applying heat to the area to be joined that is less than the melting point of the fabrics, for forming one or more seams or joints and wherein the heat fused seams or joints of a resulting polypropylene bag retains at least 85% of the fabric strength without using sewing machines.

A method of reinforcing a seam on a body involves folding a seam allowance into a series of accordion folds to form a series of parallel reinforcement layers. The parallel reinforcement layers are of similar size and form a ridge. A ridge cap of flexible material is placed over the ridge. The ridge cap provides at least one further parallel reinforcement layer. The method involves securing the ridge cap and parallel reinforcement layers together with rows of stitching, with the stitching extending through all of the parallel reinforcement layers.

A method of reinforcing a seam on a body involves folding a seam allowance into a series of accordion folds to form a series of parallel reinforcement layers. The parallel reinforcement layers are of similar size and form a ridge. A ridge cap of flexible material is placed over the ridge. The ridge cap provides at least one further parallel reinforcement layer. The method involves securing the ridge cap and parallel reinforcement layers together with rows of stitching, with the stitching extending through all of the parallel reinforcement layers.

Interfaces for positive pressure therapy having a mask assembly, a headgear assembly and a connection port assembly are disclosed herein. The connection port assembly has a ball joint connection with the mask assembly and includes a quick release button for easily disconnecting the gases source conduit from the mask assembly. The mask assembly may include a bias flow vent that is formed separately and attached to the mask assembly. The headgear assembly encircles the rear region of the user's head and may include at least some portions that are substantially non-stretchable.

The invention relates to a method by which stitch openings in the area of a seam in a plastic skin (10), in particular a PVC or TPU skin, are sealed, said PVC or TPU skin being provided for a foamed part. Foamed parts of this type are used especially as interior fitting parts, e.g. as a dashboard, in the field of automobile manufacturing. The invention further relates to a PVC or TPU skin comprising a seam of said type.

A fabric processing method and component (e.g., a vehicle component) includes providing and/or arranging a first fabric charge and a second fabric charge. A multi-piece fabric assembly is formed for single stage draping by stitching together the first and second fabric charges along a neutral stitching path. The multi-piece fabric assembly is formed into a three-dimensional shape and is then impregnated with a polymeric material to form the component.