Laminated resilient flexible barrier membranes
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A sealed bladder inflated with a media in the form of either a gas or liquid, comprising:
- a laminated membrane comprising a first layer including a thermoplastic urethane that provides elasticity to said laminated membrane; and
a second layer including at least one copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, said second layer providing selective imperviousness from gaseous fluids to said laminated membrane;
wherein contact between said first and second layers occurs upon laminating said first and second layers together at a temperature of between about 300°
to about 465°
F. and consists essentially of hydrogen bonding.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to laminated membranes formed by multi-layer processing techniques including alternating layers of thermoplastic urethane and a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol. The membranes are characterized in that hydrogen bonds are formed between the layers of thermoplastic urethane and the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol. The membranes are characterized in that hydrogen bonds are formed between the layers of thermoplastic urethane and the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol.
108 Citations
30 Claims
-
1. A sealed bladder inflated with a media in the form of either a gas or liquid, comprising:
-
a laminated membrane comprising a first layer including a thermoplastic urethane that provides elasticity to said laminated membrane; and
a second layer including at least one copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, said second layer providing selective imperviousness from gaseous fluids to said laminated membrane;
wherein contact between said first and second layers occurs upon laminating said first and second layers together at a temperature of between about 300°
to about 465°
F. and consists essentially of hydrogen bonding.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A sealed bladder inflated with a media in the form of either a gas or liquid, comprising:
-
a laminated membrane comprising first and third layers including a thermoplastic urethane; and
a second layer disposed between said first and third layers and formed from a material including a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, said second layer having an average thickness of between about 10 microns to about 500 microns;
whereby said thermoplastic urethane of said first and third layers is in contact with one or more copolymers of ethylene and vinyl alcohol of said second layer, wherein said contact occurs upon laminating said layers together at a temperature of between about 300°
to about 465°
F. and consists essentially of hydrogen bonding.- View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A sealed bladder inflated with a media in the form of either a gas or liquid, comprising:
a laminated membrane being formed by extruding a first layer including a thermoplastic urethane that provides elasticity to said laminated membrane;
together with a second layer including at least one copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol at a temperature of about 300 to about 465°
F., said second layer providing selective resistance to gas permeation to said laminated membrane, wherein contact between said thermoplastic urethane of said first layer and said at least one copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol of said second layer consists essentially of hydrogen bonding.- View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 24)
-
19. A sealed bladder inflated with a media in the form of either a gas or liquid, comprising:
-
a laminated membrane comprising a first layer including a thermoplastic urethane that provides elasticity to said laminated membrane; and
a second layer including a barrier material selected from the group consisting of copolymers of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, aliphatic and aromatic polyamides, polyvinylidene chloride, copolymers of acrylonitrile and methyl acrylate, polyesters, liquid crystal polymers, polyurethane based thermoplastics and mixtures thereof;
whereby said first and second layers are brought into contact at a temperature of about 300°
to about 465°
F., wherein said contact consists essentially of hydrogen bonding occurring between said thermoplastic urethane of said first layer and at least one of said barrier materials.- View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
25. A sealed bladder inflated with a media in the form of either a gas or liquid, comprising:
-
a laminated membrane comprising a first layer including a thermoplastic urethane that provides elasticity to said laminated membrane; and
a second layer including a blended barrier material employing at least one copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol and at least one other constituent selected from the group consisting of aliphatic and aromatic polyamides, polyvinylidene chloride, copolymers of acrylonitrile and methyl acrylate, polyesters, liquid crystal polymers, polyurethane based thermoplastics and mixtures thereof;
whereby said first and second layers are brought into contact consisting essentially of hydrogen bonding occurring between said thermoplastic urethane of said first layer and said at least one copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol of said second layer at a temperature of about 300°
to about 465°
F., said laminated membrane having a gas transmission rate of 10.0 or less for nitrogen based on an average thickness of 20 mils.- View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
Specification