Process for producing thermoplastic resin foam

Abstract

The present invention provides a process for producing a thermoplastic resin foam excellent in strength, flexibility, cushioning properties, strain recovery, and appearance, and exhibiting little shrinkage of the cell structure under a high temperature condition and a high expansion ratio. The process includes a foamed structure formation step of foam molding a thermoplastic resin composition containing a thermoplastic elastomer and an active energy-ray curable compound to thereby obtain a foamed structure; a foamed structure conveyance step of continuously conveying the foamed structure by a carrier sheet having a surface roughness (Ra) of 1 μm or larger and a tensile break strength of 30 N/15 mm or higher, after the foamed structure formation step; and an active energy-ray irradiation step of irradiating the foamed structure with an active energy ray to thereby form a crosslinked structure by the active energy-ray curable compound in the foamed structure.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.