Valcour Imprinted Papers, Inc.

Astro-valcour, Incorporated

Valcour Incorporated

Frederick H Collins

Thomas M Pontiff

Thomas M Donuiff

Moldable foam beads comprising a silane-crosslinked polyolefin foam are produced by mixing a composition comprising a silane-modified polyolefin (such as a silane-grafted polyethylene) and a silanol condensation catalyst in an extruder to produce a melt, then injecting a blowing agent into the melt at a rate effective to produce a desired foam density in the extrudate; extruding and cutting the melt to form foam beads; and exposing the foam beads to moisture to produce silane crosslinking of the polyolefin foam.

Moldable silane-crosslinked polyolefin foam beads

Method for producing large size, low density, elongated thermoplastic cellular bodies comprising the steps of forming a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and a blowing agent dissolved therein under pressure and at a temperature at which the viscosity of the mixture is sufficient to retain the blowing agent when the mixture is allowed to expand, extruding said mixture into a holding zone under conditions that prevent said mixture from foaming, the holding zone having an outlet die orifice opening into a zone of lower pressure and temperature at which said mixture foams and an openable gate closing the die orifice; periodically opening said gate and substantially concurrently applying mechanical pressure by a movable ram on the mixture, preferably while scraping the sides of the holding zone with said ram, to eject the mixture from the holding zone through the die orifice at a rate in excess of that at which substantial foaming in the die orifice occurs and less than that at which substantial irregularities in the cross-sectional area or shape of the cellular body occurs; and permitting the ejected mixture to expand unrestrained in at least one dimension to produce the elongated thermoplastic cellular body. Apparatus for producing elongated thermoplastic cellular bodies comprising an extruder for feeding a mixture of thermoplastic polymer and plasticizing blowing agent at a temperature suitable for producing a cellular body when the mixture is subjected to lower pressure; an expandable holding chamber receiving said mixture from the extruder and maintaining the mixture in a molten state at a pressure above the foaming pressure thereof, ram means for ejecting the mixture out of the chamber; a die having an orifice, preferably in line with the ram means, through which the mixture is ejected by operation of the ram means, and gate means contacting the exterior surface of the die for closing and sealing the die orifice while the holding chamber is being filled.

Method and apparatus for making large size, low density, elongated

The invention relates to sheet-like plastic packaging particles formed with a normally curved configuration having two spaced apart, curved, coextensive surfaces, one of said surfaces being a substantially unfoamed skin and the remainder of said particle including the other surface being foamed, and to methods for producing packaging particles which comprise warped or distorted, foamed sheet particles suitable for use as packaging particles from an extrudable, expandable synthetic plastic material, such as, a polymerized vinyl aromatic monomer, e.g., styrene, comprising the steps of extruding a foamed sheet of the material while chilling one surface thereof more rapidly than the other surface thereof as it is extruded to form on said one surface a skin of substantially unfoamed material or of higher density material than said other surface and the remaining portions of the sheet, thereafter, cutting said sheet to form sheet like pieces of the desired configuration and subjecting said pieces to heat at a foaming temperature to cause further foaming and distortion of said pieces to form a curved configuration.

Method for making packaging particles and resulting product

The invention relates to sheet-like plastic packaging particles formed with a normally curved configuration having two spaced apart, curved coextensive surfaces, one of said surfaces being a substantially unfoamed skin and the remainder of said particle including the other surface being foamed, and to methods for producing packaging particles which comprise warped or distorted, foamed sheet particles suitable for use as packaging particles from an extrudable, expandable synthetic plastic material, such as, a polymerized vinyl aromatic monomer, e.g., styrene, comprising the steps of extruding a foamed sheet of the material while chilling one surface thereof more rapidly than the other surface thereof as it is extruded to form on said one surface a skin of substantially unfoamed material or of higher density material than said other surface and the remaining portions of the sheet, thereafter, cutting said sheet to form sheet like pieces of the desired configuration and subjecting said pieces to heat at a foaming temperature to cause further foaming and distortion of said pieces to form a curved configuration.

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Glens Falls, NY, United States of America

Frederick H Collins