Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Patent
1996-03-29
1998-11-10
Lorin, Francis J.
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
156212, 156382, 2425, B29C 6570
Patent
active
058337962
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a structural covering on an article. The invention also relates to the articles formed thereby which include such a structural covering.
The invention has been developed for applying structural coverings to helmets and will be described hereinafter with reference to that and other applications. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to those particular fields of use. As will be explained hereafter the invention is also applicable to other articles including pallets, cooling chests or hot boxes, storage containers for fragile articles such as computers, and structural articles including building components and form work, especially in relation to the cool or hot storage of goods.
BACKGROUND ART
Hitherto, bicycle helmets in particular have been constructed from a light weight energy absorbent material. Although such helmets provide some degree of protection they lack penetration resistance and as such are easily damaged in accidents at the first impact.
Additionally, these helmets are easily stained and discoloured by dirt, grease, oil and the like. As a result such helmets quickly become aesthetically displeasing.
To overcome the problems of discolouring, outer fabric coverings have been used. For example many lycra coverings are available which can be easily removed from the helmet and cleaned as required. Alternative arrangements include a external plastics covering which is separately injection moulded, vacuumed formed or the like and subsequently abutted against the light weight helmet body and held by way of a surface adhesive or adhesive tape. Such methods of applying the covering are time consuming, either labour or capital intensive and produce a large number of defective units.
In particular answer to this problem, a separately vacuum formed or injection moulded covering has been inserted into the mould prior to the formation of the energy absorbent helmet body. Although the labour requirement is reduced, there is shrinkage of the body during the moulding process. Also the lack of adherence between the covering and body can result in a loose fit.
In addition, these coverings are only capable of extending to a mould line otherwise it would not be possible to withdraw the finished product from the mould.
The types of coverings available contribute minimally to the safety of the helmet as a whole and effectively only offer aesthetic advantages. Any impact performance is provided by the helmet body, and not the cover itself.
In the field of grand prix, motorcycle and moped helmets where higher impact forces are encountered, prior art helmets tend to be heavy and expensive. For example, it is known to utilise a polycarbonate or reinforced fibreglass outer shell and a separate inner liner which must be subsequently installed within the shell.
In other fields, the use of structural components in general requires utilising heavy and expensive materials such as timber, steel or the like. The weight and expense are often increased where corrosion resistance is important. Examples of such articles are pallets used in the transportation of goods and metal clad insulated enclosures such as coolers, refrigerators and the like. Furthermore, some materials such as timber used for pallets and for formwork for concrete and other materials that require support during curing, are becoming increasingly scarce and therefore expensive.
In other fields such as portable coolers or ice chests (such as those sold under the well known trade mark ESKY or ESKIE in Australia), the product suffers severely from a lack of mechanical strength. Such products have hitherto been moulded from expanded polystyrene and although of a low cost construction are easily cracked or broken. For example, a grown man cannot normally sit or stand on such a product without it breaking.
Further in the building arts it is known to use cellulose fibre cement buildings boards (which have replaced asbestos fibre cement or "fibro" boards). H
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patent: 4894102 (1990-01-01), Halls et al.
patent: 5034077 (1991-07-01), Pata
patent: 5201981 (1993-04-01), Whiteside
Armacel Pty Limited
Lorin Francis J.
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