Membranes with fluid barrier properties and articles containing such membranes

Abstract

A membrane comprising at least one elastomeric material, at least one polymeric fluid barrier material, and a laminar nano-filler having an average platelet thickness of up to about 10 nanometers and an average aspect ratio of at least about 200 provides desirable appearance and low gas transmission characteristics. The membrane may be a single layer, but preferably the membrane includes at least one layer of an elastomeric material and at least one layer of a polymeric barrier material, in which the elastomeric material layer and / or the polymeric barrier material layer comprises the laminar nano-filler.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention concerns membranes including fillers suitable for applications that require both barrier properties and flexibility, particularly for use in preparing bladders for inflated objects and cushioning devices. The present invention further relates to articles that are inflated or have inflated elements. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Barrier membranes and inflatable bladders formed from such membranes have been used in a variety of products for inflation or cushioning, including vehicle tires, balls, accumulators used on heavy machinery, and in footwear, especially athletic shoes. It is often desirable to use polymeric materials that are thermoplastic to form the membranes because thermoplastic materials may be reclaimed and reformed into new articles, thus reducing waste during manufacturing operations and promoting recycling after the useful life of an article. While thermoplastic barrier films may be flexed to a certain extent due to their thinness...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention provides a membrane having at least one layer, with the membrane comprising at least one elastomeric material and at least one polymeric fluid barrier material, in which a laminar nano-filler having an average platelet thickness of up to about 10 nanometers and an average aspect ratio of at least about 200 is present in at least one of the membrane layers. The membrane preferably includes at least one elastomeric layer containing an elastomeric material and at least one barrier layer containing a polymeric fluid barrier material. The elastomeric material provides resiliency and dimensional stability to the membrane of the invention, while the polymeric fluid barrier material allows the membrane to prevent the transfer of a fluid from one side of the membrane to the other. The laminar nano-filler increases the ability of the membrane to prevent transfer of a fluid from one side of the membrane to the other without appreciably increasing the opacity or haziness of the membrane and without appreciably decreasing the resilience of the membrane.

Such durable, elastomeric barrier membranes may be used to prepare inflated bladders. By “durable” it is meant that the membrane has excellent resistance to fatigue failure, particularly that a membrane of the invention can undergo repeated flexing and / or deformation and recover without delamination along the layer interfaces of the membranes, preferably over a broad range of temperatures.

Problems solved by technology

While thermoplastic barrier films may be flexed to a certain extent due to their thinness, thermoplastic barrier films having only barrier material layers generally do not have sufficient elasticity for many applications, particularly for applications in which the inflated bladder is subjected to high strains during use.

However, because of the increased stiffness that would result from a thicker layer of the barrier material, this is not an attractive option.

The Tokoh et al. materials do not have the resiliency required for cushioning devices and many inflated articles.

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