Luminescent foam floats and method
OwnerDavid C. Cairone, Sr.inventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Luminescent or light-emitting floats, such as seine floats, molded from pore-forming resinous compositions which contain an effective amount of a luminescent or phosphorescent pigment. The present floats contain the light-emitting pigment not only at the outer surface thereof but also inwardly thereof so that the removal or wear of surface portions of the float uncover interior portions which also contain said pigment.
Claims18
Luminescent marine seine float comprising a heat expanded microporous molded body of foamed synthetic thermoplastic resinous composition having an exposed outer surface portion which is susceptible to erosion, wearing away, chipping and scratching of some of the foam composition therefrom and having an integral transverse axial passage capable of receiving a rope therethrough characterized by the exposed outer surface area of said float comprising at least one surface portion of said foamed synthetic thermoplastic resinous composition containing an effective amount of a luminescent pigment uniformly dispersed throughout at least a substantial thickness thereof to cause said surface portion to emit light during several hours of darkness, the erosion, wearing away, chipping or scratching of the exposed areas of the surface portion merely exposing underlying areas of the surface portion which also contain said luminescent pigment so that the light-emitting properties of said surface portion are not reduced, at least one adjacent surface portion of said float comprising a surface portion which does not contain luminescent pigment.
Method for molding a luminescent foamed resinous seine float having an exposed outer surface portion which is susceptible to erosion, wearing away, chipping and scratching of some of the luminescent foam composition therefrom without reduction of the light-emitting properties of said surface portion, comprising the steps of:
- (a) uniformly mixing at least a portion of a foam-forming synthetic thermoplastic resinous composition with a sufficient amount of a luminescent pigment to form a light-emitting composition having the ability to emit light during several hours of darkness;
- (b) injecting said composition into a mold cavity at least adjacent to some of the portions of the wall of the mold having said mold cavity, the remainder of said cavity, if any, being injected with foam-forming synthetic thermoplastic resinous composition which does not contain said luminescent pigment;
- (c) heating said mold to cure said resinous composition and form a molded body in which at least a substantial thickness of at least some of the exposed outer surface portion contains said luminescent pigment uniformly dispersed throughout, and
- (c) removing said molded body from the mold and heating it to expand said foam-forming resinous composition and form a microporous float having luminescent exposed surface portions having light-emitting properties which are not reduced by the erosion, wearing away, chipping or scratching of some of the foam composition therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.