Apparatus and method for blending plastics

Claim 1

A FLOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR USE IN THE EXTRUSION OF PLASTIC MATERIALS COMPRISING A BLENDER PLATE THROUGH WHICH SAID PLASTIC MATERIAL FLOWS HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS, EACH OPENING OVERLAPPING EACH ADJACENT OPENING BOTH RADIALLY, BY BEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY CONTAINED WITHIN TWO RADII DRAWN FROM THE CENTER OF SAID PLATE THROUGH THE EXTREMITIES OF SAID ADJACENT OPENING, AND CIRCUMFERENTIALLY, BY BEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY CONTAINED WITHIN TWO CONCENTRIC CIRCLES DRAWN THROUGH EXTREMITIES OF SAID ADJACENT OPENING WITH THE CENTER OF SAID PLATE AS THE CENTER, ONE SURFACE OF SAID BLENDER PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR AREAS SEPARATING SAID OPENINGS, EACH OF SAID AREAS HAVING EVERY DIMENSION IN A CIRCUMFERENTIAL DIRECTION GREATER THAN THE CORRESPONDING DIMENSION OF AN ADJACENT OPENING; A VALVE PLATE ROTATABLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID BLENDER PLATE ADJACENT THERETO, SAID VALVE PLATE HAVING OPENINGS MATCHING SAID OPENINGS IN SAID BLENDER PLATE, SAID VALVE PLATE BEING ROTATABLE TO A POSITION WHEREBY EACH OPENING OF SAID VALVE PLATE IS CLOSED BY ONE OF SAID SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR AREAS.