Durakon Industries, Inc.

Piper Plastics, Inc.

Leslie E Smith

John C Montagna

Thomas G Sierakowski

Vincent B Rocheleau

Zbigniew Roman Pedzinski

Paul P Piper, Jr

William Matthew McCreedy

Marvin Behar

Tonneau cover

A running board for a passenger car or light truck is assembled from an upper molded thermoplastic section or component having a Class A automotive finish and a lower component or section having reinforcing ribs and mounting brackets. The upper section includes three layers: a paint film having a Class A automotive finish, a thin layer of thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and a thick layer of polypropylene. The lower section is homogeneous and may be a plastic such as TPO, polypropylene or high-density polyethylene (HDPE), for example, which may contain chopped, randomly oriented glass reinforcing fibers. The two sections are secured to one another about their peripheries by autogenous bonding.

Running board for vehicle having class A finish

A method of fabricating composite vehicle panels includes the steps of forming a first, upper panel having a depending peripheral lip, forming a second, lower panel of laid up woven mat or strips of a fibrous material such as fiberglass or carbon fibers and a plastic resin to form a corrugated panel having a depending peripheral lip, placing an adhesive on the raised portions of the corrugations and the peripheral lip of the second panel and securing the panels together at the corrugations and about their peripheral lips.

Method of manufacturing composite vehicle panels

A composite material includes five distinct layers of material: two thin outer layers or panels, a central rigid core and intermediate foam layers on both sides of the core which fill the regions between the core and outer panels. The core can be a wide variety of material but is preferably a rigid foam or wood having resin or epoxy impregnated fiber or fiber filled outer skins. An array of apertures extends through the core. During the fabrication process, the apertures facilitate cross flow of the foam and ensure even distribution thereof. As a finished product, the foam filled apertures ensure positive location and retention of the core within the foam. The foam may be any suitable injectable foam but is preferably a composition which remains resilient upon curing as such foam more readily accommodates dimensional changes between the layers due to, for example, ambient temperatures changes. The core and foam are surrounded with top and bottom panels of a moldable thermoplastic material such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) which is capable of being molded with a high quality exterior finish.

Composite panel structure and method of making same

Support structures, systems, and methods are disclosed. Among the support structures are pallets designed especially, although not necessarily exclusively, for cold-weather environments such as commercial refrigerators and freezers and refrigerated transport carriers. Such pallets may include non-skid materials and optionally are recyclable, have improved stacking and load-bearing attributes, and incorporate recycled materials.

Support structures such as pallets and methods and systems relating thereto

Portion of a carrying rack for positioning on top of an automobile

Growing community of inventors

Lapeer, MI, United States of America

Leslie E Smith