Apparatus for cutting continuously extruded material

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR DIVIDING A CONTINUOUSLY EXTRUDED COLUMN OF PLASTIC MATERIAL INTO PREDETERMINED LENGTHS COMPRISING: SHAPING MEANS PROVIDED WITH AN EXTRUDER NOZZLE FOR EXTRUDING A CONTINUOUS COLUMN OF PLASTIC MATERIAL ALONG A PATH; CONVEYOR MEANS DISPOSED FORWARDLY OF SAID NOZZLE FOR MOVING A SEVERED LENGTH OF THE MOVING COLUMN OUT OF THE PATH OF THE COLUMN AND FOR IMMEDIATELY SUPPORTING A NEXT LENGTH WHICH IS STILL INTEGRAL WITH THE MOVING COLUMN WITHOUT DISPLACING ANY OF THE NEXT LENGTH FROM THE EXTRUSION PATH, SAID MEANS DEFINING AT LEAST TWO SUPPORTING SURFACES EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE EXTRUSION PATH AND MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY MOVING SAID SUPPORTING SURFACES ACROSS THE EXTRUSION PATH, SAID SUPPORTING SURFACES FACING GENERALLY IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MOVEMENT SO AS TO PRESENT NNO STRUCTURE WHICH WILL CROSS THE EXTRUSION PATH BETWEEN THE TIME OF REMOVAL OF THE SEVERED LENGTH OF COLUMN AND THE TIME OF ARRIVAL OF A SUPPORTING SURFACE AT A POSITION TO SUPPORT THE NEXT LENGTH OF COLUMN.