TITLE: Rotocasting process for producing rubbery reinforced articles United States Patent 4258917 ABSTRACT: A process is provided for making reinforced rubbery sport and play balls by rotational casting, in a mold lined with a nonwoven fabric, a liquid polymer composition containing an epoxy resin, a liquid carboxyl-terminated polymer, an amine, a dihydric compound, and a plasticizer. The sections of nonwoven fabric in the mold are preshrunk and sealed together by means of an amine-terminated liquid polymer. The resultant sport and play balls have good dimensional stability and the desired flex and tear properties. INVENTORS: Murphy, Walter T. (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) APPLICATION NUMBER: 06/099292 PUBLICATION DATE: 03/31/1981 FILING DATE: 12/03/1979 ASSIGNEE: The B. F. Goodrich Company (Akron, OH) PRIMARY CLASS: 473/609 OTHER CLASSES: 264/257, 264/258, 264/310, 264/311, 428/36.1 INTERNATIONAL CLASSES: B29C41/00; A63B41/00; A63B45/00; B29B15/00; B29C31/00; B29C39/00; B29C41/04; B29C41/06; B29C41/34; B29D99/00; (IPC1-7): A63B41/00; B28C5/04 FIELD OF SEARCH: 264/257, 264/258, 264/310, 264/311, 273/58BA, 273/58J, 273/65ED, 428/35, 29/157.1R US PATENT REFERENCES: 4187134 Process for making a game ball February, 1980 Svub 273/58J 4183883 Method of rotational molding about plural axes at low rotational speeds January, 1980 Blair 264/257 4169594 Hollow articles October, 1979 Crane 264/311 4154789 Thermoplastic ball and method of manufacturing same May, 1979 Delacoste 264/310 4119592 Rubbery bladders from epoxy compositions October, 1978 Murphy 264/311 3607500 A MOLDING FIBROUS WEBS September, 1971 Field 264/257 3095261 Method for making hollow bodies from plastic material June, 1963 Meyer 273/58BA FOREIGN REFERENCES: JP5161568 May, 1976 264/310 PRIMARY EXAMINER: Derrington, James H. Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wymbs, Roy P. CLAIMS: I claim: 1. A process for making reinforced rubbery sport balls and play balls by rotational casting comprising placing in the two halves of a rotary mold two preshrunk and preformed half shells of nonwoven fabric in such a manner as to line the entire inner surface, said shells being of such size as to provide sufficient area at the edge thereof to bind one nonwoven shell to the other, placing in the lower half of the mold a liquid polymer rotocasting composition containing an epoxy resin, a liquid carboxyl-terminated polymer, an amine, a dihydric compound, and a plasticizer, said composition having a viscosity of less than 2500 centipoises at 75° C., placing between said shells in the area at the edge thereof a strip of film made from an amine-terminated liquid polymer, fastening the two halves of the mold together, heating the mold while being rotated to a temperature in the range of about 110° C. to about 180° C., said mold being rotated about a major axis and a minor axis simultaneously for a time sufficient to completely cure said rotocasting composition whereby the heat of rotocasting melts said strip of film to a polymeric adhesive and cures and sets the same binding said shells together, and thereafter cooling said mold and removing the ball therefrom. 2. A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the amine-terminated liquid polymer has the formula ##STR4## wherein Y is a univalent radical obtained by removing a hydrogen from an amine group of an aliphatic alicyclic, heterocyclic or aromatic amine, containing from 2 to 20 carbon atoms and at least two secondary or mixed primary/secondary amine groups per amine molecule, but no more than one primary amine group per amine molecule, and B is a polymeric backbone containing carbon-carbon linkages comprising a least 95% of the total polymeric backbone weight, said backbone B containing polymerized units of at least one polymerizable olefinic monomer having at least one terminal CH[2] C