Moldable composite material
OwnerThomas A. Waytsinventor
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Abstract
A moldable heterogeneous composite material has a continuous plastic phase (30) and a discrete phase of unground rubber (20) dispersed in the continuous phase. The composite material can be formed from thermoplastic or thermosetting materials and pieces of rubber from used tires. The composite material of the present invention can be molded in a process having the steps of providing a flowable melt of plastic material (50), providing unground rubber pieces (70), mixing the plastic material with the rubber pieces to form a composite material, and molding the composite material into an article (10) having a desired shape. Molded articles formed from the composite of the present invention have high rigidity and good durability.
Claims29
A process for forming a rigid molded article comprising:
- providing a flowable melt of plastic material;
- providing unground rubber pieces, wherein at least one of the rubber pieces contains a metal reinforcement, and wherein a majority of the rubber pieces have a particle size of greater than about 0.25 inches;
- mixing the plastic material with the rubber pieces to form a composite material;
- and
- molding the composite material into an article having a desired shape.
A rigid molded article formed by a process comprising providing a flowable melt of plastic material, providing unground rubber pieces that are formed from tires, wherein a portion of the rubber pieces contain a metal reinforcement, and wherein the majority of the pieces have a particle size of greater than about 0.25 inches, mixing the plastic material with the unground rubber pieces to form a heterogeneous composite material, and molding the composite material into an article.
A rigid molded article comprising a continuous plastic phase and a discrete phase of unground rubber, wherein the rubber comprises pieces of vulcanized rubber formed from tires, wherein a portion of the pieces of vulcanized rubber contain a metal reinforcement, and wherein the majority of pieces have a particle size or greater than 0.25 inches.
A rigid molded article comprising a continuous plastic phase and a discrete phase of unground rubber, wherein the rubber comprises pieces formed from tires, at least one of said rubber pieces having a metal reinforcement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.