Milliken + Co

Webcore Technologies, Inc.

Other

Webcore Ip, Inc.

Stephen W Day

Michael S Sheppard

Frederick Stoll

Danny E Tilton

G Scott Campbell

Daniel M Hutcheson

Michael Sheppard

Robin Banerjee

Paul L Galloway

John P Jones

Thomas John Ewry

Thomas J Ewry

The plurality of pieces of low density cellular material, such as foam plastics, form a core panel having opposite side surfaces and with adjacent pieces having opposing edge surfaces extending between the side surfaces. Sheets of flexible material, such as veils or mats or scrim, are adhesively attached to the side surfaces, and portions of one sheet extend between the opposing adjacent edge surfaces for limiting flexing of the panel. The pieces may be tapered, and portions of the one sheet may project between the edge surfaces either partially or fully to form double wall webs. The webs may have flanges adhesively attached to the other sheet on the opposite side. One sheet may also be stretchable in areas not adhesively attached to the pieces to provide for curving the panel from a planar position maintained by the sheet on the opposite side.

Composite cores and panels

A composite core panel is produced by arranging a plurality of foam strips in adjacent relation and advancing the strips with one or two flexible sheets of porous reinforcement material and adhesive between platens to form a panel. The sheet on one side of the strips is folded between adjacent strips to form double wall pleats which may project either partially or fully between the strips and may have folded end portions overlying the other side of the strips. The second sheet may also form double wall pleats between the strips and be connected to the pleats in the first sheet. The core panel may be cut to form reinforced strips which are connected by adhesive in various arrangements to form other core panels. A core panel may also be formed by wrapping each foam strip longitudinally with a strip of reinforcing material and connecting the strips with adhesive.

Composite reinforced cores and panels

A fiber reinforced core panel is formed from strips of plastics foam helically wound with layers of rovings to form webs which may extend in a wave pattern or may intersect transverse webs. Hollow tubes may replace foam strips. Axial rovings cooperate with overlying helically wound rovings to form a beam or a column. Wound roving patterns may vary along strips for structural efficiency. Wound strips may alternate with spaced strips, and spacers between the strips enhance web buckling strength. Continuously wound rovings between spaced strips permit folding to form panels with reinforced edges. Continuously wound strips are helically wrapped to form annular structures, and composite panels may combine both thermoset and thermoplastic resins. Continuously wound strips or strip sections may be continuously fed either longitudinally or laterally into molding apparatus which may receive skin materials to form reinforced composite panels.

Fiber reinforced composite cores and panels

A composite core panel has opposite side surfaces for receiving skins to form a composite sandwich panel. The core panel includes a plurality of spaced blocks of low density cellular material such as foam plastics and have opposite side surfaces forming the side surfaces of the core panel and opposite edge surfaces extending between the side surfaces. A plurality of parallel spaced elongated primary strips of structural cellular material such as balsa wood or engineered foam have a higher density and extend between the blocks, and the blocks have side surfaces adhesively attached to edge surfaces of the blocks. A plurality of parallel spaced secondary strips of structural high density cellular material such as balsa wood or engineered foam extend transversely to the primary strips and have end surfaces adhesively attached to the primary strips and side surfaces adhesively attached to the blocks.

A fiber reinforced core panel is formed from strips of plastics foam helically wound with layers of rovings to form webs which may extend in a wave pattern or may intersect transverse webs. Hollow tubes may replace foam strips. Axial rovings cooperate with overlying helically wound rovings to form a beam or a column. Wound roving patterns may vary along strips for structural efficiency. Wound strips may alternate with spaced strips and spacers between the strips enhance web buckling strength. Continuously wound rovings between spaced strips permit folding to form panels with reinforced edges. Continuously wound strips are helically wrapped to form annular structures, and composite panels may combine both thermoset and thermoplastic resins.

A fiber reinforced core is formed from plastics foam material having elongated porous and fibrous webs and/or rovings extending through the foam material. The rovings may extend angularly through the webs, and strips of the foam material may be helically wound with layers of crossing rovings to form the webs. Porous and fibrous skins for the core may be formed by the wound rovings and by parallel continuous rovings, and the foam strips may be formed with internal grooves adjacent the webs and connected by a feeder channel for infusing a hardenable adhesive resin into the grooves and outwardly through the webs to the skins with differential pressure on the resin.

Rigid foam pieces or boards and alternating porous fibrous web sheets are adhered to form core panels or billets. Porosity is maintained in the webs for forming integral structural ties by absorbing resin applied under differential pressure to the webs and to overlying sandwich panel skins. Beveled foam recesses adjacent web edge portions form structural resin fillets, and protruding edge portions form expanded connections to the skins. Core panels with intersecting webs form enhanced panels. Boards or core panels and web sheets arranged in inclined stacks form second core panels having webs intersecting panel edges or faces at acute angles. Boards of alternating different physical properties and web sheets are bonded to form reinforced panels having differing interior and exterior densities. Compressible foam panels are used in place of or with web sheets to make bendable core panels. Foam between web edge portions is recessed for bonding a settable material to the edge portions.

Reinforced foam cores and method and apparatus of production

Rigid foam boards and alternating absorptive fibrous web sheets are adhered to form core panels or billets. Porosity is maintained in the webs for forming integral structural ties by absorbing resin applied to overlying sandwich panel skins. Beveled foam recesses adjacent web edge portions form structural resin fillets, and protruding edge portions form expanded connections to the skins. Core panels oriented with their webs crossing are layered with web sheets to form enhanced panels. Boards or core panels and web sheets arranged in inclined stacks form second core panels having webs intersecting panel edges or faces at acute angles. Boards of alternating different physical properties and web sheets are bonded to form reinforced panels having differing interior and exterior densities. Compressible foam panels are used in place of or with web sheets to make bendable core panels. Foam between web edge portions is recessed for bonding a settable material to the edge portions.

Rigid foam insulation boards and thin flexible fibrous sheets or strips are stacked in alternating layers with adhesive between the layers, and the stack is compressed while the adhesive cures to form a rectangular core panel or billet. In one embodiment, the parallel spaced sheets or strips extend diagonally of the panel or billet, and each billet is cut through the alternate layers of foam and fibrous sheets and along parallel spaced planes to form a plurality of core panels. The core panels are adhesively bonded between skins of rigid sheet materials to form laminated sandwich panels with the fibrous strips connecting the skins. The above stacking and curing steps are also performed with core panels in place of insulation boards to form a billet which is cut to form core panels with grid-like webs, and grid-like core panels are used to form a billet with the webs extending in X-Y-Z directions. Billets are also formed with core panels stacked in a step-like manner and then cut along inclined parallel planes to provide core panels with truss-like webs, and billets are formed with adjacent rigid foam boards having different densities and thicknesses, Resilient foam panels are used in place of or with the fibrous sheets for producing core panels which may be curved, and the foam between the webs of grid-like core panels is recessed to expose the webs for bonding surface materials such as stucco to the core panels.

Method of production of reinforced foam cores

An outer skin or facing of wood sheet material and an inner skin or facing of wood sheet material are adhesively bonded to opposite sides of a core of rigid expanded foam material to form an elongated wall unit having a horizontal length greater than its vertical height. A longitudinally extending upper portion of the wall unit incorporates adhesively bonded members which form an integral continuous beam extending horizontally from one end of the wall unit to the opposite end. The integral beam has a vertical height substantially greater than its thickness for supporting a substantial load above a door or window opening which may be subsequently formed within the wall unit at any selected location between the ends of the wall unit. A plurality of spaced wood furring strips are adhesively bonded to the inner facing of the wall unit and are provided with channels adjacent the inner facing for receiving electrical wiring. The furring strips also function to strengthen the wall unit against wind deflection and provide for an air space between the inner facing and gypsum dry wall sheeting which is subsequently attached to the furring strips. In one embodiment, the beam is formed by wood members which are vertically spaced between the facings to form a box beam. In another embodiment, thin sheets of metal are bonded by adhesive to the inner surfaces of the facings and to the foam core panels which are uniform in thickness throughout the entire wall unit.

Composite wall panel assembly and method of production

An outer skin or facing of wood sheet material and an inner skin or facing of wood sheet material are adhesively bonded to opposite sides of a core of rigid expanded foam material to form an elongated wall unit having a horizontal length greater than its vertical height. A longitudinally extending upper portion of the wall unit incorporates adhesively bonded members which form an integral continuous beam extending horizontally from one end of the wall unit to the opposite end. The integral beam has a vertical height substantially greater than its thickness for supporting a substantial load above a door or window opening which may be subsequently formed within the wall unit at any selected location between the ends of the wall unit. A plurality of spaced wood furring strips are adhesively bonded to the inner facing of the wall unit and are provided with channels adjacent the inner facing for receiving electrical wiring. The furring strips also function to strengthen the wall unit against wind deflection and provide for an air space between the inner facing and gypsum dry wall sheeting which is subsequently attached to the furring strips. An integral continuous beam may also be located within a lower portion of the unit. In one embodiment, the beam is formed by members which are vertically spaced between the facings to form a box beam, and in another embodiment, the vertically spaced beam members are bonded only to the inner facing to form a 'C' shaped continuous beam.

Growing community of inventors

Dayton, OH, United States of America

Stephen W Day