Apparatus for heat-trimming foam material
US4242074A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 1976 |
| Grant date | Dec 30, 1980 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 6, 1996 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB29C51/32
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A thermoplastic material, such as a sheet of polystyrene or polyethylene foam, is placed between a trim guide, which may be a die mold or press, and is in the form of at least two heat-conducting metal pieces, one of which is movable towards the other. The trim guide is pressure-operated to pressurize the material along the area to be trimmed. This may be an edge of a plastic sheet, the perimeter of an article produced from the material, or may be holes or slots to be cut in the material. A knife or other tool, heated to a temperature high enough to melt the material, is then moved along the trim guide. The knife vaporizes the pressurized material along the trim guide, which creates a definitive point at which melting or vaporization of the material stops. The trim guide is made from metal having high heat-conductivity, such as aluminum which has sufficient heat-conductivity to create a point at which melting, caused by the knife vaporizing the material, stops.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.