Method of manufacturing foam core boat collars
First Claim
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1. A method of fabricating an item of manufacture of a type in which a sleeve encompasses and firmly surrounds polymeric foam material, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) forming a sleeve having a shape and size that corresponds to the item of manufacture, said sleeve having an interior for receiving said polymeric foam material and having an opening that allows placement of said polymeric foam in said interior of said sleeve;
(b) fabricating one or more inserts for placement in said interior of said sleeve, said one or more inserts being formed of compressible polymeric foam, having a shape that corresponds to the shape defined by said interior of said sleeve and being oversized relative to said interior of said sleeve;
(c) compressing said one or more foam inserts to a size less than the size of said interior of said sleeve;
(d) placing the compressed foam inserts in said interior of said sleeve;
(e) closing said opening of said sleeve; and
(f) expanding the compressed polymeric foam inserts so that the expanded foam inserts bear firmly against at least the majority of said interior of said sleeve to cause said sleeve to fully encompass and firmly surround the polymeric foam;
wherein said step of compressing said one or more foam inserts includes the steps of inserting said inserts in a hyperbaric chamber and increasing the atmospheric pressure in the hyperbaric chamber until the size of said one or more inserts is less than the size of said interior of said sleeve and are small enough to allow placement in said interior of said sleeve.
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Abstract
A method for fabricating foam cored items in which the foam core is tightly encased by an outer shell. The method is particularly suited for fabricating foam collars that are located above the chine of a boat and extend longitudinally along the sides of the boat to provide stabilization for the boat during high performance maneuvering and/or provide a fendering system.
21 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating an item of manufacture of a type in which a sleeve encompasses and firmly surrounds polymeric foam material, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) forming a sleeve having a shape and size that corresponds to the item of manufacture, said sleeve having an interior for receiving said polymeric foam material and having an opening that allows placement of said polymeric foam in said interior of said sleeve; (b) fabricating one or more inserts for placement in said interior of said sleeve, said one or more inserts being formed of compressible polymeric foam, having a shape that corresponds to the shape defined by said interior of said sleeve and being oversized relative to said interior of said sleeve; (c) compressing said one or more foam inserts to a size less than the size of said interior of said sleeve; (d) placing the compressed foam inserts in said interior of said sleeve; (e) closing said opening of said sleeve; and (f) expanding the compressed polymeric foam inserts so that the expanded foam inserts bear firmly against at least the majority of said interior of said sleeve to cause said sleeve to fully encompass and firmly surround the polymeric foam; wherein said step of compressing said one or more foam inserts includes the steps of inserting said inserts in a hyperbaric chamber and increasing the atmospheric pressure in the hyperbaric chamber until the size of said one or more inserts is less than the size of said interior of said sleeve and are small enough to allow placement in said interior of said sleeve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of fabricating a boat collar of the type that extends outwardly from the hull of the boat and is of a predetermined cross-sectional geometry, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) forming a tube-like sleeve having a shape and size that corresponds to that of the boat collar, said sleeve having an interior region of cross-sectional geometry that substantially corresponds to the cross-sectional geometry of the boat collar and an opening for accessing said interior region of said sleeve, said opening being equipped with a closure for selectively allowing access to said interior region of said sleeve and for selectively closing off said interior region of said sleeve; (b) fabricating one or more inserts for placement in said interior region of said sleeve, said one or more inserts being formed of compressible polymeric foam having a cross-sectional geometry that substantially corresponds to the cross-sectional geometry of said interior region of said sleeve, but is oversized relative thereto; (c) compressing said one or more of said inserts to a point at which said one or more inserts can be positioned in said interior region of said sleeve; (d) placing the compressed foam inserts in said interior region of said sleeve; (e) operating said closure to close off said interior region of said sleeve; and (f) expanding the compressed polymeric foam inserts so that the expanded foam inserts fill said interior region of said sleeve without reaching a fully expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification