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US 4,452,920 AGranted
Flexible polyurethane foams having junction modifying particulate additives
AssigneeJoubert & Joubert Proprietary Limited
InventorMichael D. Joubert
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AssigneeJoubert & Joubert Proprietary Limited
InventorMichael D. Joubert
Estimating the term…
Conventional polyurethane foam products are modified by incorporating into the urethane reaction mixture a junction modifying particulate material that is selected with a critically controlled particle size relative to certain dimensional parameters of the foamed polymer matrix. This particulate material is selected with a particle size that results in location of the material in the foam cell wall junction regions rather than in the cell walls. The resulting products provided excellent physical properties (such as modulus of compression, tensile strength, elongation and tear resistance) at lower costs than normally encountered with similar unmodified foams. The preferred junction modifying particulate materials are organic polymeric materials such as ground rubber or plastics. As a result, the large particle size materials needed to achieve the junction modifying properties can be used without causing harmful abrasion or wear of processing equipment surfaces.
A flexible polyurethane foam material having polymer cell walls and junction regions where a plurality of cell walls intersect, an average cell size in the range of about 50 to about 2,500 microns, and an average strut thickness in the range of about 10 to about 500 microns, and wherein from about 1 to about 60% by weight of said foam material comprises an organic polymeric particulate material having an average particle size that is greater than about 25% of the average cell wall thickness and less than about 100% of the average cell size, said particulate material located primarily in said junction regions.
In a process for preparing a flexible polyurethane foam having polymer cell walls, junction regions where a plurality of cell walls intersect, an average cell size in the range of about 50 to about 2,500 microns, and an average strut thickness in the range of about 100 to about 500 microns, said process comprising reacting a polyol, an organic polyisocyanate, a foaming agent and a catalyst, the impovement comprising:
A process for preparing a flexible polyurethane foam having polymer cell walls and junction regions where a plurality of cell walls intersect, said process comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.