US20040216658A1

US20040216658A1 - Pool float and method of making the same

Info

Publication number: US20040216658A1
Application number: US10/425,840
Authority: US
Inventors: Wu-Chueh Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-04-30
Filing date: 2003-04-30
Publication date: 2004-11-04

Abstract

A pool float is made of a mixture which constituents comprise polyvinyl chloride (PVC) powder, stabilizer, processing agent and chemical blowing agent, wherein the mixture is well mixed and air extracted, pressurized and heated for polymerization, cooled, and heated for foaming to be made into the pool float of the present invention.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a pool float, and more particularly to a pool float made of PVC and a method of making the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional pool float made of rubber was easy to be affected by weather, and especially by UV light. The rubber pool float always is damaged after being exposed under sunlight for a span. The pool float is coated with protective paint to serve as a shield or a mask with which the pool float is isolated from UV light to extend the product life of the pool float. Operators always get the protective paint on his/her skin and inhale the volatilization of the paint into lungs that is bad for operators' health.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a pool float, which is mainly made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and has a well capacity of anti UV light.

According to the objective of the present invention, a pool float is made of a mixture which constituents comprise polyvinyl chloride (PVC) powder, stabilizer, processing agent and chemical blowing agent, wherein the mixture is well mixed and air extracted, pressurized and heated for polymerization, cooled, and heated for foaming to be made into the pool float of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the processes of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and [0007]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a method of making a pool float of the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: [0009]
a) Mix powder of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), stabilizer, processing agent and chemical blowing agent into a mixture and extract the air within the mixture out. [0010]
The constituents of the mixture are well mixed and then the mixture is put in a chamber. Air in the chamber is extracted out to form a vacuum environment therein such that the air within the mixture will escape in the same time and the mixture has no air bubble therein. It has to be mentioned that the present invention is not limited in the detail of the extracting process as described above, any process that can take the air within the mixture out will be the scope of the present invention. The ratio of the constituents of the mixture is that the stabilizer is about 20 in weight, the processing agent is about 30 in weight and the chemical blowing agent is about 25 in weight under the PVC powder is 100 in weight. [0011]
b) Pressurize and heat the mixture. [0012]
The mixture is put into a cavity of a mold (not shown) which the cavity meets the shape of the pool float and is according to the ratio of the mixture foamed. The mold is heated to make the mixture in the cavity taking polymerization. The heating temperature is under the critical temperature of the chemical blowing agent taking foaming. [0013]
c) Cool the mixture. [0014]
The cooled mixture has completed the polymerization so that it can be taken out of the mold to be a semi-finished material. [0015]
d) Heat the semi-finished material to make it foaming. [0016]
The semi-finished material is put in a stove and heated. The heating temperature is higher than the critical temperature of the chemical blowing agent taking foaming. A reaction is taken in chemical blowing agent to make the semi-finished material foamed. [0017]
e) Cool the foamed semi-finished material to be the [0018] pool float 1 of the present invention.
It is mentioned that there is two stages of heating in the steps of making the pool float [0019] 1 of the present invention, wherein the first stage of heating makes the polymerization taken in the constituents of the mixture but no reaction is taken to the chemical blowing agent so that the temperature of the first stage of heating is no higher than the critical temperature of the chemical blowing agent taking foaming and the second stage of heating makes the chemical blowing agent reacting so that the temperature of the second stage of heating is higher than the critical temperature of the chemical blowing agent.
The shape and textures of the semi-finished material is kept on the [0020] pool float 1. There is no cutting or modifying step needed for the foamed pool float 1 of the present invention so that the method of making the pool float 1 has fewer steps and has lower cost.
The size of the semi-finished material is smaller than the [0021] pool float 1 of the end product, in other words, the semi-finished material expands the volume thereof after foamed. The pool floats 1, however, might have different sizes because of the different of heating or cooling temperatures, it does not affect the functions and the characters of the pool floats 1 of the present invention. The variation in size is still within the tolerance of product's quality.
Above are the description of the [0022] pool float 1 and the steps of making the same. It is easy to find that there is no cutting or modifying step in the processes. Stain is added to the mixture to get the predetermined color of the pool float 1. The character of the PVC material is superior in anti UV light so that there is no more protective coating on the pool float 1. The operators, therefore, have no chance to contact with poison chemical materials in the processes of making the pool float 1 of the present invention to protect them from hazards.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A pool float made of a mixture which constituents comprise polyvinyl chloride (PVC) powder, stabilizer, processing agent and chemical blowing agent and the mixture is well mixed and air extracted, pressurized and heated for polymerization, cooled, and heated for foaming.

2. The method of making the pool float as defined in claim 1, comprising the steps of:

a) mixing the constituents of the mixture and extracting the air within the mixture out;

b) putting the mixture into a cavity of a mold and heating the mold to make the mixture taking polymerization, wherein a heating temperature thereof is lower than a critical temperature of the chemical blowing agent taking foaming;

c) cooling the mixture to be a semi-finished material;

d) heating the semi-finished material to make it foaming, wherein a heating temperature thereof is higher than a critical temperature of the chemical blowing agent taking foaming, and

e) cooling the foamed semi-finished material.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the semi-finished material is put into a stove for heating in the step d.

4. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the semi-finished material has a shape and textures as same as a shape and textures of the pool float but they are different in size.

5. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein a ratio of the constituents of the mixture is that the stabilizer is about in a range of 15-25 in weight, the processing agent is about in a range of 25-35 in weight and the chemical blowing agent is about in a range of 20-30 in weight under a condition of the PVC powder is about 100 in weight.

6. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein a preferred ratio of the constituents of the mixture is that the stabilizer is about 20 in weight, the processing agent is about in 30 in weight and the chemical blowing agent is about 25 in weight under a condition of the PVC powder is about 100 in weight.