Welding process and product for inflatable product.

(54) Title: WELDING PROCESS AND PRODUCT FOR INFLATING PRODUCT.

(54) Title: WELDING PROCESS AND PRODUCT FOR INFLATABLE PRODUCT.

(57) Summary

A process for welding an inflatable product is provided that includes using insulating members between the first and second portions of the weldable tension members to resist the first and second portions of the weldable tension structures being welded together during the welding of the first portions to a first sheet of weldable material and the welding of the second portions to a second sheet of weldable material. ^{57 * * * *} (57) Abstract

A welding process of an inflatable product is provided that ineludes using isolating members between first and second portions of weldable tensioning members to resist the first and second portions of the weldable tensioning structures being welded together during welding of the first portions to a first sheet of weldable material and welding of the second portions to a second sheet of weldable material.

WELDING PROCESS AND PRODUCT FOR INFLATABLE PRODUCT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a reliable product and, in particular, to a method for attaching tensioning structures to walls of the reliable product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present disclosure, a reliable product is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plastic and a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperate to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable product further includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioning structures is welded to the first sheet and a second portion of the tensioning structures is welded to the second sheet. The inflexible product further includes a plurality of insulating members positioned in the inflatable chamber. The insulating members can be positioned to isolate the first portions of the tensioning structures from the second portions of the tensioning structures to block the weldable contact between the first and second portions.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a reliable product is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plastic and a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second blades cooperate to define an unreliable chamber. The unreliable product further includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioning structures are welded to the first sheet and a second portion of the tensioning structures are welded to the second sheet. The inflatable product further includes a portion of a non-metallic insulating member positioned in the inflation chamber and coupled to at least one of the first and second portions of a tensioning structure of the plurality of tensioning structures.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an inflatable product is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plastic and a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second blades cooperate to define an unreliable chamber. The unreliable product further includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioning structures is welded to the first sheet and a second portion of the tensioning structures is welded to the second sheet. The first portions have structures and the second portions have contours that match at least a portion of the structures of the first portions.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a reliable product is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plastic and a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second blades cooperate to define an unreliable chamber. The unreliable product further includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioning structures is welded to the first sheet and a second portion of the tensioning structures is welded to the second sheet. The first portions have a seam formed by means of a clamp. The second portions have a seam formed by means of the clamp. The perimeters of the seams of the second portions are substantially mirror images of perimeters of the seams of the first portions.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of producing a reliable product is provided that includes the steps of providing a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second blades cooperate to define an unreliable chamber. The method further includes the step of providing a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a plastic solder. The plurality of tensioning structures includes a first portion and a second portion. The method further includes the step of simultaneously welding the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures to the first and second sheets.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of producing a reliable product is provided that includes the steps of providing a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperate to define an inflatable chamber. The method further includes the step of providing a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a plastic solder. The plurality of tensioning structures includes a first portion and a second portion. The method further includes the step of providing an insulating member on a roll. The insulating material is configured to isolate the first portions of the tensioning structures from the second portions of the tensioning structures. The method further includes the step of unwrapping the insulating member from the roll, positioning the insulating member between the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures, welding the first portion of the plurality of tensioning structures to the first sheet while the insulating member is positions between the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures, and welding the second portion of the plurality of tension structures to the second sheet while the insulating member is positioned between the first and second portions of the plurality of tension structures.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of producing an inflatable product is provided that includes the steps of providing a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second blades cooperate to define an unreliable chamber. The method also includes the step of providing a plurality of tensioning structures, each tensioning structure including a weldable plastic. The plurality of tensioning structures includes a first portion and a second portion. The method further includes the step of bending the plurality of tension structures and welding the first portion of the plurality of tension structures to the first sheet and the second portion of the plurality of tension structures to the second sheet while bending the first plurality of structures. tensor.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of producing a reliable product is provided that includes the steps of providing a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second blades cooperate to define an unreliable chamber. The method further includes the step of providing a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes a weldable plastic. The plurality of tensioning structures includes a first portion and a second portion. The method further includes the step of clamping the first portions and the second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures together, and welding the first portion of the plurality of tensioning structures to the first sheet and the second portion of the plurality of tensioning structures to the second sheet while the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures are held together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features of this disclosure, and the manner of achieving them will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein :

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a welder of the present disclosure that includes an upper die and a lower die.

Figure 2 is an exploded diagram showing the components of an aligned unreliable product for welding.

Figure 3 is an exploded diagram showing the components of another embodiment of an aligned unreliable product for welding. '

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the welder of Figure 1 aligned relative to the components of the reliable product of Figure 3 for welding.

Figure 5 is a partial enlarged view showing the components of the unreliable product of Figure 3 and the welder of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an inflatable product that includes alignment threads.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view showing a portion of the inflated product of Figure 3 clamped between the first and second upper and lower punch bars of welder 12 showing filaments creating voids in the layers of inflexible product material.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the different views. The explanation set forth herein illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and such exemplification should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in Figure 1 to Figure 6, a welding process is provided for a reliable product. The welding process joins tensioning structures 4 of an inflatable product 10 to inflatable sheets 5, 7 of the'inflatable product 10. A high-power, high frequency welder 12 is used to join the tensioning structures 4 to the inflatable sheets 5, 7.

The welder 12 includes an upper welding die 1, a lower welding die 2, upper bars 11, and lower bars 21 arranged opposite the upper bars 11. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the upper and lower bars 11, 21 are high frequency electrodes that heat materials positioned adjacent to them using high frequencies. According to alternative embodiments, other methods, such as heat, can be applied to melt the materials. The upper and lower bars 11, 21 are laterally spaced by the desired spacing of tension structures 4 in the finished foolproof product 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the bars 11, 21 are straight to coincide with the straight tension structures 4. According to alternative embodiments, the bars 11, 21 may have other shapes, such as circles, to coincide with tension structures 4 that have other shapes, such as circular columns. The number of bars 11, 21 depends on the number of tension structures 4 in the unreliable product 10.

According to one embodiment, a stage box 3 is provided that includes a plurality of slots 32 in the bottom plate 31 corresponding to the spacing of the bottom bars 21. As will be discussed in greater detail later, the components of the unreliable product 10 are positioned in the stage box 3 and then the stage box 3 is positioned between the upper and lower welding dies 1, 2 such that the bars lower 21 are aligned with the grooves 32 to facilitate the welding of the tensioning structures 4 to the inflatable sheets 5, 7. Each bar 21 of the lower die 2 penetrates through the slots 32, thereby making contact with the tensioning structures 4 in the stage box 3. The upper and lower dies 1, 2 come together in such a way that the lower bars 21 are supported by the bars 11 of the upper die 1 with the respective components of the unreliable product 10 sandwiched in between. According to alternative embodiments, the stage box 3 is not used to place the components in the welder 12.

As shown in Figure 2 and in combination with the first embodiment in the disclosure shown in Figure 1, the tensioning structures 4 are plastic strips, preferably made of a weldable plastic, such as PVC. According to this embodiment, the tensioning structures 4 form an integral strip of material. In accordance with the present method for manufacturing the inflated product 10, the tension structures 4 are cut into strips from a sheet of bulk material. Then, a bottom sheet 7 of material, such as PVC, is placed in the stage box 3. The tensioning structures 4 are bent in such a way that the longitudinal edges of the tensioning structures 4 are aligned.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, an insulating member 6 is positioned between the tips of each bent tensioning structure 4. The bent tensioning structures 4 with insulating members 6 positioned thereon are positioned on the bottom sheet 7 which was previously positioned in the stage box 3. According to one embodiment, alignment marks are provided on the box 3 (or elsewhere) to facilitate alignment of the tips (also referred to as first and second portions) of tensioning structures 4 bent over the grooves 32 of the staged box 3. The topsheet 5 of the unreliable product 10 is then positioned on the tensioning structures 4 folded in the staged box 3. The stage box 3 is positioned in the high power, high frequency welding machine such that the slots 32 of the stage box 3 are aligned and positioned on the lower bars 21 of the lower die 2. The upper and lower dies 1, 2 are moved towards each other in such a way that the lower sheet 7, the tips / portions of bent tensioning structures 4, and the insulating members 6 are positioned and clamped between the upper and lower bars 11, 21 respective. Then, the high frequency welder is energized to weld the upper sheet 5 to the upper tip / first portion of each tensioner structure 4 and the lower sheet 7 to the lower tip / second portion of each tensioner structure 4 at the same time. Therefore, an upper tip of a tensioning structure 4 is welded to the upper sheet 5 at the same time as the lower tip of the same tensioning structure 4 is welded to the lower sheet 7. By positioning the insulating member 6 between the upper and lower tips / portions of the respective tension structures 4, the upper and lower tips of the respective tension structures 4 are not welded together. Therefore, the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 can be welded to the tensioning structures 4 at the same time at separate times. After the welding is complete, the dies 1, 2 are separated and the stage box 3 can be removed from the welder 12 together with the partially formed unreliable product 10. The insulating members 6 can be removed or not removed from the inflated product 10.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the insulating member 6 can be insulating paper, insulating paper release paper made of other materials, and it can also adopt a sheet with low cost and small thickness, such as non-woven fabric. , laminated cloth or oxford cloth or similar, as long as the sheet can block the welding of the adjoining tips of the tensioning structures 4.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the insulating material 6 is a plastic film having a width of approximately three times the width of the contact portion of the bars 11, 21 and a thickness substantially less than the thickness of the tensioning structure 4 and the upper and lower sheets 5, 7. Preferably, the insulating material 6 is provided in rolls 22 (only one roll 22 is shown). During the positioning of the insulating material 6, each respective insulating material is unwound from the roll 22 of insulating material 6 and positioned between respective tips of each tensioning structure 4. Before or after the positioning is complete, each respective piece of insulating material 6 is cut or otherwise peeled off the roll 22 of insulating material 6. As mentioned above, after the welding is complete, the insulating material 6 may or may not be removed from the unreliable product 10. When the insulating material 6 is not removed, it remains within the unreliable product 10. As such, when the unreliable product 10 is inflated, the insulating material 6 remains within the unreliable product.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the unreliable product 10 is an air cushion. To complete the manufacturing process, a side wall / panel 36 can be welded to the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 to cooperate with the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 to define an unreliable interior / chamber. Additionally, the side wall 36 (or other outer layer) may be provided with an air valve (not shown) to facilitate inflation and deflation of the inflexible product 10. Additional details of a suitable air cushion are provided in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013 / 130117 Al, entitled Internal! Tensioning Structures Usable With Inflatable Devices, by Lin et al., Filed June 12, 2012, the full disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference into this document. In accordance with alternate embodiments of the present disclosure, the unreliable product 10 can be other devices, such as sofas, lounge chairs, spas, swim floats, inflexible slides, or other unreliable devices.

An alternative embodiment of tensioning structures 4 'is shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5. The tensioning structures 4 include a plurality of filaments 82 and two pairs of plastic welding strips 81, preferably PVC that capture the filaments 82 at both ends. . The welding strips 81 are welded to the upper sheet 5 and the lower sheet 7 of the inflatable product 10. In an exemplary embodiment, the welding strips 81 and the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 are made of PVC. The top and bottom sheets 5, 7 and the solder strips 81 have thicknesses ranging from 0.15 to 1.0 millimeters with 0.34 millimeters being preferred for the top and bottom sheets 1, 2 and 0.18 millimeters being preferred for solder strips 81. Additional details Suitable 4 'tensile structures are provided in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013 / 130117 Al, which was previously incorporated by reference herein.

The tension structures 4 'are welded to the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 in a similar manner to that described above for the tension structures 4. The bottom sheet 5 is positioned in the stage box 3, the tensioning structures 4 'are bent such that the respective pairs of solder strips 81 are positioned adjacent to each other, the insulating material 6 is positioned between strips / tips / respective welding portions 81 of tensioning structures 4 'bent, the upper sheet 7 is positioned in the stage box 3, the stage box 3 is positioned in the welder 12, the upper and lower dies 1, 2 are brought together, the welder is energized to simultaneously weld the upper welding strips 81 to the upper sheet 5 and the lower welding strips 81 to the lower sheet 7, and the stage box 3 is removed from the welder 12. As discussed above, the material Insulator 6 prevents the respective upper and lower solder strips 81 from being soldered together and the insulating materials 6 may or may not be removed from the inflatable product 10. In accordance with alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, other shapes of solder strips 81 may be provided, for example, a single solder strip 81 may be provided at each tip / tension structure portion instead of a pair of solder strips. 81 as disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013 / 130117 Al, which was previously incorporated by reference herein. Additionally, a plastic adhesive sheet (not shown) can be provided on filaments 82 as disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013 / 130117 Al, which was previously incorporated by reference herein. A laminate sheet with a grid of filaments 82 and one or two sheets of adhesive can also be provided as disclosed in US Patent Application No. Series 14 / 444,474, entitled Inflatable Spa, (Inflatable Spa), filed July 28, 2014, all disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference into this document.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the only material positioned between the upper and lower bars 11, 21 are the upper and lower sheets 5, 7, the welding strips 81, the filament portions 82, and the insulating material 6 .

Therefore, during welding, when the upper and lower bars 11, 21 come together, the upper and lower bars 11, 21 are only separated by the thickness of the upper and lower sheets 5, 7, the welding strips 81, the filaments 82, and the insulating material 6. The upper and lower sheets 5, 7 are separated by the thickness of the welding strips 81, the filament portions 82, and the insulating material 6. Similarly, the solder strips 81 are separated by the thickness of the insulating material 6. According to the preferred embodiment, the thickness of the insulating material 6 is less than the thickness of a single solder strip 81 (or the thickness of the tension structure 4 discussed above). Therefore, during welding, the upper and lower pairs of welding strips 81 are separated by a thickness less than the thickness of a single welding strip 81 (or less than the thickness of the tensioning structure 4 discussed above). . The upper and lower bars 11, 21 have a width 30 at their point of contact with the respective upper and lower sheets 5, 7. During welding, seams 32 having a width 34 are formed between the upper sheet 5 and the upper pair of welding strips 81 and the lower sheet 7 and the lower pair of welding strips 81. During welding, the upper bars and The bottom 11, 21 are separated by a distance less than the widths 30, 34. The insulating material 6 has a thickness less than the widths 30, 34. According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the thickness of the insulating material 6 is less than one tenth of the widths 30, 34. According to other embodiments, the ratio of the thickness of the insulating material 6 to the widths 30, 34 is 1.0, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25, 0.15, 0.05, 0.025 or less.

As shown in Figure 6, the alignment filaments 9 can be provided for the tension structure 4 'which maintain the adjacent tension structures 4' at a desired spacing for welding. To assemble the unreliable product 10, each tensioning structure 4 'is bent such that the insulating member 6 is sandwiched between respective pairs of solder strips 81. Next, the adjacent tensioning structures 4 'are connected together with the alignment filaments 9 at the desired spacing by adhering the alignment filament 9 to the welding strips 81. According to one embodiment, an alignment filament 9 is positioned below of the tensioning structures 4 'and adheres to the lower side of the lowermost welding strip 81. Another alignment filament 9 is positioned above the tensioning structures 4 'directly above the other alignment filament 9 and adheres to the upper side of the welding strip 81 or higher. To further assist in keeping the tensioning structures 4 'aligned, the upper and lower alignment filaments 9 can be adhered thereto near each solder strip 81. Because each pair of solder strips 81 adheres to either upper or lower alignment filament 9 and the upper and lower alignment filaments 9 adhere to each other, the upper and lower pairs of solder strips 81 engage between the themselves through the upper and lower alignment filaments 9. As shown in Figure 6, multiple alignment filaments 9 (or pairs of alignment filaments 9) adhere through the length of the tensioning structures 4 '.

As discussed above, the upper sheet 5 of the unreliable product 10 is placed in the stage box 3. Then the leftmost tensioning structure 4 '(or alignment filaments 9) is pulled onto the lower sheet 7 and the stage box 3 until it is positioned over the leftmost slot 32 of stage box 3. As the leftmost tensioning structure is pulled, the other tensioning structures 4 'are also pulled by means of the alignment filaments 9 and positioned over their respective slots 32 in the stage box 3. The topsheet 5 of unreliable product 10 then it is positioned on the tensioning structures 4 '. The stage box 3 is then pushed into the high-power, high-frequency machine, the upper and lower dies 1, 2 are brought together, and the upper and lower pairs of solder strips 81 are simultaneously butt welded to the upper and lower sheets. lower 5, 7 respectively. After this welding step, the stage box 3 is removed from the welder 12 and the insulating member 6 may or may not be removed from within the unreliable product 10. Later, a side panel 36 can be welded to the perimeter edges of the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 to define a foolproof chamber as discussed above. According to other embodiments, the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 can be welded together along their perimeters to define an unreliable chamber.

The alignment strands 9 may be made of a strand of weaker strength sufficient to maintain the alignment of the tension structures 4 '. For example, when the inflated product 10 is inflated, the alignment filaments 9 can be separated without impacting the shaping function of the tensioning structures 4 '. Similarly, the adhesion of the alignment filaments 9 to the welding strips 81 and / or between them may be weak, but sufficient to maintain the alignment of the tension structures 4 '. For example, when the inflated product 10 is inflated, the alignment filaments 9 can detach from the welding strips 81 of the tensioning structures 4 'such that the tensioning structures 4' can carry out their shaping function. Similarly, the adhesion of the upper and lower alignment filaments 9 discussed above can be weak such that the upper and lower pairs of solder strips 81 can separate when the unreliable product 10 is inflated. The alignment filaments 9 can also be provided with the PVC sheet tensioning structures 4 of Figure 2.

In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the insulating member 6 is an insulating ink, such as water-based ink, or other liquid that is printed or otherwise applied to one side of a pair of strips. solder 81 to isolate the solder strips 81 from each other during soldering. The welding process of the tensioning structures 4 'to the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 can follow the same steps as described above. Because the insulating member 6 is applied to the solder strips 81 it is preferable not to remove the insulating material from the solder strips 81. These types of insulating members 6 can also be applied to all or portions of the sheet tensioning structures 4 PVC of Figure 2. For example, the insulating ink can be applied to one side of the tensioning structures 4 or only to the portions necessary to avoid welding the respective inner tips / portions of bent tensioning structures 4.

The insulating materials described in this document can be applied to solder strips 81 before or after the tension structures 4 'are formed. For example, the solder strips 81 are preferably formed from a roll of PVC material as described in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013 / 130117 Al, which was previously incorporated by reference herein. This material roll can include PVC welding strip material, and the insulating material 6 is applied to the PVC welding strip material. Thus, insulating material 6 can be applied to solder strips 81 before individual solder strips 81 are cut in length and / or before filaments 82 adhere to solder strips 81..

During the welding of the welding strips 81 to the upper and lower sheets 5, 7, the upper and lower sheets 5, 7, the welding strips 81, the filaments 82, and the insulating material 6 are fastened by means of the bars upper and lower 11, 21. During this clamping and welding, certain characteristics of the structures on one side of the insulating member 6 can be transferred to the structures on the other side of the insulating member 6. For example, as shown in Figure 7, the filaments 82 positioned between one pair of solder strips 81a are out of phase with the filaments on the opposite pair of solder strips 81b. The bulges created by the upper filaments 82a create depressions 84b in the lower weld strips 81b. Similarly, the protrusions created by the lower filaments 82b create depressions 84a in the upper solder strips 81a. After welding and release of clamping the bars 11, 21, these depressions 84a, 84b remain in the welding strips 81a, 81b. In addition to leaving a feature on opposite sides of the insulating member 6, the protrusion can leave features on the insulating members 6. For example, after clamping and welding, holes can be created in the insulating members 6 where the filaments 82 can make impressions on insulating members 6.

During this welding and clamping, the bars 11, 21 create seams 33 between the upper and lower sheets 5, 7 and the welding strips 81. The profile of the outer perimeter of the seams 33 is generally defined by the area of

4 clamping overlap between bars 11, 21. As such, the perimeter of the seam 33 of the upper sheet 5 is generally the mirror image of the perimeter of the seam 33 of the lower sheet 7.

Additionally, after clamping and welding, portions of the insulating material 6 may remain on the solder strips 81. Some of these portions may remain although the remainder of the respective insulating member 6 is removed from the inflated product 10. These remaining portions may be visible or microscopic.

While this disclosure has been described as having exemplary designs, the present disclosure may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variation, use, or adaptation of the disclosure using its general principles. Furthermore, this application is intended to cover such deviations from the present disclosure as within known or usual practice in the art to which this disclosure belongs and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.