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US 6,723,761 B1Granted
Microcellular foaming
AssigneeBose Corporation
InventorsDavid E. Thomas, Jian Xing Li
Life of this patent
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AssigneeBose Corporation
InventorsDavid E. Thomas, Jian Xing Li
Estimating the term…
A method for forming microcellular foams that causes the material to expand uniaxially during the foaming process, and a method for forming objects from the foam. Liquid crystal polymers or polymers having a planar crystalline structure are saturated with a fluid, normally a gas such as carbon dioxide. The ambient conditions are changed such that the fluid is in a supersaturated state, and the material is brought to near its glass transition temperature to induce the formation of nonspherical elongated gas-filled cells. A process for making objects, such as transducer diaphragms, from microcellular foams includes the step of forming the objects prior to the foaming process.
A method of producing a foamed polymeric material, comprising saturating a portion of unfoamed polymeric material having a thickness dimension transverse to opposed surfaces with a fluid;
A method for forming a foamed polymeric object, comprising preforming the object from an unfoamed polymeric material having a planar crystalline structure;
A foamed polymeric material, having a thickness dimension transverse to opposed surfaces comprising gas-filled cells each having one dimension in a direction that is parallel to said opposed surfaces that is larger than a second dimension in a direction parallel to said thickness dimension.
A foamed polymeric object, formed by:
A diaphragm comprising, a foamed polymeric material having a thickness transverse to opposed surfaces having gas-filled voids between the opposed surfaces,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.