Heat-foamable sheet, method for manufacturing the same, foaming filler member, and method for filling inner space of hollow member

A method of filling an inner space of a hollow member by heat-foaming a foaming filler member, wherein

• the inner space of the hollow member has a main space and a protruding space protruding from the main space which are formed in mutually connecting relation, such that the inner space is asymmetric, and
• the foaming filler member consisting of a one-piece, heat-foamable sheet with a single homogeneous layer which extends in an extending direction and shrinks in an orthogonal direction to the one-extending direction when heated at 100 to 130° C. for 20 minutes and has an extension ratio of 5 to 50% in the extending direction, the method comprising:
• disposing the heat-foamable sheet in the main space such that a distance between a side of the heat-foamable sheet facing the protruding space and an inner wall of the hollow member is greater than a distance between an opposite side of the heat-foamable sheet facing the main space and the inner wall of the hollow member, and such that the extending direction of the heat-foamable sheet is oriented toward the protruding space;
• and
• heating the heat-foamable sheet at 160 to 220° C. such that the heat-foamable sheet foams to extend more greatly in the one extending direction than in the orthogonal direction.