Patent ID: 7553437

Claim:
A method for making a molded foam article, comprising: a. providing a mold assembly, comprising (1) a housing having an internal cavity and an opening into said cavity, (2) a movable support member, said support member being movable between (a) an inner position, in which said support member is substantially contained within said cavity, and (b) an outer position, in which at least a portion of said support member extends outside of said cavity via said opening, (3) an object having a three-dimensional shape and being supported by said support member, and (4) a closure, which is adapted to assume a closed position to enclose said support member within said cavity; b. moving said support member to said outer position; c. positioning a film web over said object to thereby form a substantially convex envelopment over said object; d. moving said support member to said inner position while maintaining said film web in contact with said object to thereby reconfigure said substantially convex film envelopment into a partially concave film envelopment, wherein said film forms a hollow space of predetermined shape and said object causes a portion of said film to protrude into said hollow space, and wherein said cavity is bounded by one or more walls that partially define the predetermined shape of said hollow space, said film web being interposed between said walls and said hollow space; e. dispensing a predetermined amount of a foamable composition into said hollow space; and f. moving said closure to said closed position, whereby, said foamable composition expands within said hollow space to form a molded foam article that substantially conforms to said predetermined shape, with said film web forming at least a partial outer skin for said article.