The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 12, 1997
Filed:
May. 14, 1996
Graham D Walmsley, Hickory, NC (US);
Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company, Hickory, NC (US);
Abstract
A polyurethane foam is produced by mixing foam forming chemicals with the mixing being effected to produce an unfoamed liquid mixture and then feeding the unfoamed liquid mixture into an open-topped trough in which the liquid mixture remains for a dwell time during which an exothermic and gas-forming reaction occurs and the liquid begins to foam and for a partially foamed froth. The volume of the open-topped trough and the dwell time of the foam forming chemicals in the trough are adjusted by tilting the trough. The partially foamed froth is discharged across a curved lip portion at the top of the open-topped trough on to a surface on which the foamed froth is allowed to further react and form a solid polyurethane foam material. The curved lip portion is shaped to minimize shear forces and stresses in the foam and ensure smooth overflow of the foamed froth at different tilt angles. Continuous foam production is achieved without the need for process shutdowns for foam formulations requiring different dwell times.