Apparatus for plastic foam production

Claim 1

IN A COATING MACHINE IN WHICH A SHEET OF MATERIAL ADVANCES FROM A SUPPLY ZONE THROUGH A COATING ZONE, AN INTERMEDIATE ZONE, A METERING ZONE, AND OTHER ZONES TO WITHDRAWAL ZONE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH CONSISTS OF THE COMBINATION OF: MEANS FOR SENDING A SIGNAL WHEN DETECTING AN EXCESS OF COATING MATERIAL IN THE ZONE INTERMEDIATE THE COATING ZONE AND THE METERING ZONE; MEANS FOR SENDING A SIGNAL WHEN DETECTING A DEFICIENCY OF COATING MATERIAL IN THE ZONE INTERMEDIATE THE COATING ZONE AND THE METERING ZONE; A CONSTANT SPEED ELECTRIC MOTOR, SAID MASTER TRANSMISSION DRIVEN BY SAID ELECTRIC MOTOR, SAID MASTER TRANSMISSION BEING ADJUSTABLE TO TRANSMIT A RANGE OF SPEEDS; A MASTER CONTROL RESPONSIVE TO THE SIGNALS FROM THE DETECTING MEANS, SAID MASTER CONTROL ACTUATING THE MASTER TRANSMISSION TO ACCELERATE OR DECELERATE THE OUTPUT SPEED OF THE MASTER TRANSMISSION IN RESPONSE TO THE QUANTITY OF COATING MATERIAL IN THE ZONE INTERMEDIATE THE COATING ZONE AND THE METERING ZONE; A PLURALITY OF COMONENT TRANSMISSIONS, EACH DRIVEN BY THE MASTER TRANSMISSION, AND EACH HAVING A STABILIZED SPEED RATIO BY REASON OF THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE VARIABLE SPEED COMPONENT TRANSMISSION; A PLURALITY OF HYDRAULIC PUMPS EACH DRIVEN BY EACH COMPONENT TRANSMISSION AND EACH CIRCULATING HYDRAULIC FLUID THROUGH A CLOSED PATH; A PLURALITY OF RECIPROCTING HYDRAULIC MOTORS, EACH DRIVEN BY THE FLUID CIRCULATED BY ITS HYDRAULIC PUMP; A PLURALITY OF RECIPROCATING BIFUNCTIONAL PUNPS, EACH RECIPROCATING PUMP BEING RIGIDLY CONNECTED WITH ITS RECIPROCATING HYDRAULIC MOTOR, EACH PUMP DIRECTING A FLOW OF A COMPONENT FROM A SOURCE OF SUPPLY TO A MIXING CHAMBER DURING EACH STROKE OF THE RECIPROCATING PUMP; BYPASS MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH HYDRAULIC MOTOR WHEREBY THE PUMPING OF A SELECTED COMPONENT MAY BE INDEPENDENTLY INITIATED OR TERMINATED; A MIXING CHAMBER IN WHICH THE COMPONENTS FROM EACH OF THE RECIPROCATING PUMPS ARE AGITATED; A CONDUIT DIRECTING THE MIXTURE OF COMPONENTS FROM THE MIXING CHAMBER TO AN APPLICATOR; AND AN APPLICATOR COATING THE MIXTURE ONTO THE ADVANCING SHEET OF MATERIAL IN A UNIFORM PREDETERMINED THICKNESS, SAID MIXTURE HAVING A UNIFORM COMPOSITION BY REASON OF THE STABILIZED SPEED RATIOS OF THE COMPONENT TRANSMISSIONS AND THE POSITIVE VOLUME DISPLACEMENT OF THE BIFUNCTIONAL PUMPS, AND SAID THICKNESS BEING UNIFORM BY REASON OF THE INCREASE AND DECREASE OF THE FLOW OF EACH COMPONENT IN RESPONSE TO THE DECREASE AND INCREASE IN THE QUANTITY OF MIXTURE IN SAID INTERMEDIATE ZONE.