Patent Description:
In <FIG>, there is shown a conventional foam product which includes a foam core <NUM>, an upper skin <NUM> and a lower skin <NUM>. The foam core <NUM> is formed of an expanded material, such as EPS (expanded polystyrene). The upper skin <NUM> may be formed of single or multi-layers. As show in <FIG>, the upper skin <NUM> has two layers, in which one is a foam layer <NUM> while the other is a plastic film <NUM> with a pattern printed thereon. Likewise, the lower skin <NUM> may be formed of single or multi-layers. The lower skin <NUM> also has two layers. One is a foam layer <NUM> while the other is a plastic plate <NUM>. It is noted that in this conventional foam product, the foam layer <NUM> is thicker than the plastic plate <NUM>. The plastic plate <NUM> has a bottom surface <NUM> that contacts a slide surface, such as the surface of water, snow, grass or sand, while sliding. The lower skin <NUM> covers and is bonded to the whole bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>, but does not laterally extend beyond the bottom surface <NUM>. On the other side, the upper skin <NUM> not only covers and is bonded to both the upper surface <NUM> and the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>, but also extends to cover a peripheral end surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM>. Thus, a seam S is formed at the junction between the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> and the extension of the upper skin <NUM>. That is, the seam S is formed between the upper skin <NUM> and the lower skin <NUM> at the bottom surface of the conventional foam product, and surrounds the outer surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. Furthermore, as shown in <FIG>, the seam S extends upward to the junction between the foam core <NUM> and the upper skin <NUM>.

When a user rides the foam product on the slide surface, the outer surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is not the only one that contacts with the slide surface. The peripheral end portion <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> and the seam S, unfortunately, will contact with the slide surface, and therefore be subject to abrasion and impact from the slide surface, which may cause a split at the seam S in a short period of time. And once the split occurs, water, sand or other substances on the sliding surface may penetrate the foam core <NUM>, and thus expedite the peeling of the upper skin <NUM> from the foam core <NUM>. Consequently, a need exists for a foam product which overcomes the aforementioned problem in the prior art without unduly reducing the quality of the foam product.

<CIT>discloses a slider comprising a foam core having a top surface, a bottom surface and edge surfaces; a top layer entirely heat laminated to said top surface and edge surfaces of said foam core; a first pattern formed within said top layer, said first pattern being visible from outside of said top layer; and a bottom layer entirely heat laminated to said bottom surface of said foam core.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a foam product to satisfy the aforementioned need.

According to the invention, a foam product according to claim <NUM> is provided. Further examples of such a foam product are subject matter of the dependent claims <NUM>-<NUM>.

In one embodiment, the foam product of this invention includes a foam core, an upper skin and an lower skin. The foam core has a top surface, a bottom surface and a peripheral side surface. The upper skin covers both of the top surface and the peripheral side surface of the foam core, but extending not beyond the bottom surface of the foam core, wherein the upper skin has an inner surface bonded to the top surface and the peripheral side surface of the foam core, an outer surface provided for supporting a user, and a peripheral end surface. On the other hand, the lower skin covers the bottom surface of the foam core and at least a portion of the peripheral end surface of the upper skin, and has an inner surface, an outer surface, and a peripheral end surface, wherein the inner surface of the lower skin is bonded to the bottom surface of the foam core and the peripheral end surface of the upper skin, and the outer surface of the lower skin is provided for contacting a slide surface.

As described above, the upper skin of the foam product covers the top surface of the foam core as well as the peripheral side surface of the foam core, but extends not beyond the bottom surface of the foam core. On the other hand, the lower skin covers the bottom surface of the foam core, and extends laterally to cover the peripheral end surface of the upper skin. Thus, no seam is formed on bottom of the foam product, thereby avoiding any split from the bottom of the foam product. In fact, the peripheral end surface of the upper skin is covered by the lower skin, and is well protected from any abrasion and impact from the slide surface, thereby greatly reducing the chance of the peeling of the upper skin from the foam core.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to <FIG>, there is shown a first embodiment of the foam product, which maybe a recreational sports board (such as surfboard, snowboard, grass board, or sand board), or a rescue board (such as floating board, kickboard, or floating beacon).

As shown in <FIG>, the foam product includes a foam core <NUM>, an upper skin <NUM> and a lower skin <NUM>. The foam core <NUM> has a top surface <NUM>, a bottom surface <NUM> and a peripheral side surface <NUM> connecting the top surface <NUM> and the bottom surface <NUM>. The foam core <NUM> may be formed of single or multi-layers, and made of a molded expanded plastic material, such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polyethylene (EPE), expanded polypropylene (EPP) or expanded copolymer of styrene and ethylene. The upper skin <NUM> and the lower skin <NUM> are made of plastics, and both are thinner than the foam core <NUM>. Each of the upper skin <NUM> and the lower skin <NUM> are multi-layered.

As shown in <FIG>, the upper skin <NUM> covers not only the top surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> but also the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>, but extends not beyond the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>.

More specifically, the upper skin <NUM> has an outer surface <NUM>, an inner surface <NUM>, and a peripheral end surface <NUM> connecting the outer surface <NUM> and the inner surface <NUM>. The outer surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is provided for supporting a user. The inner surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is bonded to the top surface <NUM> and the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>. The upper skin <NUM> includes an upper foam layer <NUM> and a plastic film <NUM>. The upper foam layer <NUM> is disposed in between the foam core <NUM> and the plastic film <NUM>, and is made of expanded plastic materials, such as EPE or EPP, with a thickness of about <NUM> to <NUM>. The plastic film <NUM> is a non-foam plastic film and may be made of polyethylene with a thickness of about <NUM> to <NUM>. Preferably, a pattern (not shown) is printed on the plastic film <NUM>.

The lower skin <NUM> covers both of the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> and the whole peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>.

More specifically, the lower skin <NUM> has an inner surface <NUM>, an outer surface <NUM>, and a peripheral end surface <NUM> connecting the inner surface <NUM> and the outer surface <NUM>. The inner surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is bonded to the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> and the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>. The outer surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is provided for contacting a slide surface, such as a surface of water, snow, grass or sand. The lower skin <NUM> includes a lower foam layer <NUM> and a plastic plate <NUM>. The lower foam layer <NUM> is disposed in between the foam core <NUM> and the plastic plate <NUM>, and may be made of an expanded plastic material, such as EPE or EPP. The plastic plate <NUM> is a non-foam plastic plate and may be made of polyethylene with a thickness of about <NUM> to <NUM>. A pattern may also be printed on the plastic plate <NUM>. In particular, the plastic plate <NUM> is relatively made tougher and more wear resistant than the lower foam layer <NUM>, and thus is more suitable for sliding on the slide surface. In addition, the plastic plate <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is thicker than the plastic film <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>, but is thinner than the upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>.

Since the lower skin <NUM> extends laterally beyond the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core to cover the whole peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin, there is no seam formed or exposed on the bottom surface of the foam product. In this manner, when an user rides the foam product upon the slide surface, no seam will contact with the slide surface. Thus, unlike the split or peeling of the upper skin <NUM> occurs at the seam in the prior art, no peeling of the upper skin <NUM> from the foam core <NUM> will occur in this invention. In this embodiment, the whole peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is covered by the inner surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> so that when the user rides the foam product upon the slide surface, the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> would not contact with the slide surface, thereby avoiding the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> from abrasion and impact by the slide surface, and greatly reducing the chance of peeling of the upper skin <NUM> from the foam core <NUM>.

It is noted that, before the lower skin <NUM> is bonded to the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>, the lower foam layer <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is generally identical in thickness to the upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>; however, when the lower skin <NUM> is bonded onto the foam core <NUM>, the lower foam layer <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is heavily compressed and therefore becomes thinner with a thickness of about <NUM> to <NUM>. As a result, in the foam product, the lower foam layer <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is actually thinner than the upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>, and is even thinner than the plastic plate <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The lower foam layer <NUM> of the lower skin is so thin that it can hardly be noticed when viewed from a side.

<FIG> illustrates a second embodiment of the foam product, which is substantially identical to that of the first embodiment, except that the lower skin <NUM> of the second embodiment covers only a portion 202a of the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>. The rest portion 202b of peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is uncovered. Thus, a gap is formed in between the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> and the rest portion 202b of the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>, and is filled with a sealing material, such as epoxy, to form an annular sealing member 3a. In this manner, the upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> and the lower foam layer <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> are both hidden inside the foam product and protected from exposure to outside environment.

<FIG> illustrates a third embodiment of the foam product, which is substantially identical to that of the aforementioned embodiment(s), except that the upper skin 2a of the third embodiment is formed in two or more parts. In this embodiment, the upper skin 2a includes a primary skin portion 20a and at least one lateral skin portion 20b. The primary skin portion 20a covers and is bonded to the top surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> as well as an upper area <NUM> of the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>. The lateral skin portion 20b covers and is bonded to a lower area <NUM> of the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>. The lateral skin portion 20b may be made of plastic and be single or multi-layers. In this embodiment, the lateral skin portion 20b is formed of one single layer and made of an expanded plastic material, such as EPE or EPP. Because of the covering of the lower skin <NUM> over the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin 2a, there is no seam formed at the bottom surface of the foam product of the third embodiment, thereby avoiding the bottom surface of the foam product from splitting or peeling as occurred in the prior art. Besides, the whole peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin 2a is covered and protected by the lower skin <NUM> from abrasion or impact by the slide surface, thereby avoiding the peeling of the lateral skin portion 20b of the upper skin 2a from the foam core <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a fourth embodiment of the foam product, which is substantially identical to that of the aforementioned embodiment(s), except that the upper skin <NUM> covers the top surface of the foam core and extends to cover an upper area <NUM> of the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>. The lower skin <NUM> covers the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> and extends to cover an lower area <NUM> of the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>. In particular, the lower skin <NUM> is partly laid upon the upper skin <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. Alternatively, in other examples, the upper skin <NUM> may be partly laid on top of the lower skin <NUM>. Either way, the upper and lower skins <NUM>, <NUM> are partly overlaid with one another at the peripheral side surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>. As such, there is no seam formed at the bottom surface of the foam product, thereby avoiding the bottom surface of the foam product from splitting or peeling as occurred in the prior art. Besides, the peripheral end surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is completely covered and protected by the lower skin <NUM> from abrasion or impact by the slide surface, thereby avoiding the peeling of the upper skin <NUM> from the foam core <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the upper skin <NUM> has an end portion overlapped with the lower skin <NUM>, and the lower skin <NUM> has an end portion overlapped with the upper skin <NUM>. The end portion of the upper skin <NUM> is thinner than the rest portion of the upper skin <NUM>, and the end portion of the lower skin <NUM> is thinner than the rest portion of the lower skin <NUM>. Furthermore, as shown in <FIG>, the upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is formed on its outer surface a plurality of protrusions <NUM> and concaves <NUM> staggered from one another, except that the overlapped, end portion of the upper skin <NUM> is substantially flat and smooth, as depicted in <FIG>.

Referring again to <FIG>, the foam core <NUM> is made of EPS or EPP. The upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM> is formed in its inner surface with a plurality of concave dents <NUM> adjoined to one another. The foam core <NUM> is formed on its upper surface with a plurality of convex bumps <NUM>. The convex bumps <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> are respectively bonded in the concave dents <NUM> of the upper foam layer <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>. Referring back to <FIG>, the bottom surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM> is relatively flat than the top surface <NUM> of the foam core <NUM>, and the inner surface <NUM> of the lower skin <NUM> is relative flat than the inner surface <NUM> of the upper skin <NUM>.

As described above, this invention provides a foam product in which the upper skin covers the top surface of the foam core as well as the peripheral side surface of the foam core, but extends not beyond the bottom surface of the foam core. The lower skin, on the other hand, covers the bottom surface of the foam core, and extends outside to cover the peripheral end surface of the upper skin. This creates no seam on the bottom surface of the foam product, thereby avoiding splitting or peeling of the upper skin from the foam core. Rather, the peripheral end surface of the upper skin is covered by the lower skin, and is protected from any abrasion and impact by the slide surface, thereby greatly reducing the chance of peeling of the upper skin from the foam core.

Claim 1:
A foam product, comprising:
a foam core having a top surface, a bottom surface and a peripheral side surface;
an upper skin covering the top surface of the foam core and at least a portion of the peripheral side surface of the foam core, but extending not beyond the bottom surface of the foam core, wherein the upper skin has an inner surface bonded to the top surface and the peripheral side surface of the foam core, an outer surface provided for supporting a user, and a peripheral end surface; and
a lower skin covering both of the bottom surface of the foam core and the peripheral end surface of the upper skin, and having an inner surface, an outer surface, and a peripheral end surface, wherein the inner surface of the lower skin is bonded to the bottom surface of the foam core and the peripheral end surface of the upper skin, and the outer surface of the lower skin is provided for contacting a slide surface of water, snow, grass or sand ;
wherein the upper skin includes an upper foam layer covering the top surface and the peripheral side surface of the foam core;
wherein the lower skin includes a compressed lower foam layer and a non-foam plastic plate; and the compressed lower foam layer is disposed in between the foam core and the non-foam plastic plate, wherein the compressed lower foam layer is thinner than the upper foam layer, wherein the compressed lower foam layer has a thickness smaller than the non-foam plastic plate, wherein the non-foam plastic plate is made tougher and more wear resistant than the compressed lower foam layer.