Process for the manufacture of pad body

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A PAD BODY BY FOAMING AND VULCANIZING A LATEX COMPOSITION WHICH CONTAINS FOAMING AND VULCANIZING AGENTS IN A MOLD COMPRISING A BOTTOM, SIDE WALLS, AND A LID DEFINING TOGETHER A MOLD CAVITY OF A HEIGHT LESSER THAN ITS LENGTH AND WIDTH, SAID LID BEING MOVABLE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID MOLD, SAID LID AND BOTTOM EACH BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF METAL PINS DISPOSED IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER AND EXTENDING INTO SAID MOLD CAVITY TO SUCH A LIMITED DEPTH AS TO LEAVE A SPACE BETWEEN THE ENDS OF THE LID PINS AND THE ENDS OF THE BOTTOM PINS WHEN SAID MOLD IS CLOSED, THE IMPROVEMENT THAT, IN ORDER TO BESTOW A CONVEX CURVATURE ON THE PAD BODY TO BE PRODUCED, PLACING AN ELASTIC PANEL, WHICH IS MADE OF FOAMED PLASTICS AND HAS A LESSER LENGTH AND WIDTH THAN SAID MOLD CAVITY BUT A THICKNESS GREATER THAN SAID SPACE BETWEEN SAID PIN ENDS, ON THE END OF SAID BOTTOM PINS AND SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY IN SAID MOLD WHILE THE LATTER IS OPEN, INTRODUCING SAID LATEX COMPOSITION UNDERNEATH AND ON TOP OF SAID PANEL RESTING ON SAID BOTTOM PINS, THEN CLOSING SAID MOLD TO COMPRESS SAID PANEL BETWEEN THE ENDS OF SAID LID PINS AND THE ENDS OF SAID BOTTOM PINS WHILE SAID LATEX COMPOSITION IS CONVERTED TO A FOAM PROVIDED WITH HOLES CORRESPONDING TO THE DIMENSIONS OF SAID LID AND BOTTOM PINS AND IS THEN VULCANIZED, WHEREBY THE FOAMED RUBBER STRUCTURE THUS PRODUCED IS VULCANIZED FIRMLY ONTO SAID PANEL ON ALL SIDES THEREOF, THEN OPENING SAID MOLD AND THE VULCANIZED STRUCTURE CONTAINING SAID COMPRESSED PANEL IS REMOVED FROM SAID MOLD, SAID PANEL THUS BEING RELEASED FROM THE COMPRESSIVE STRESS OF SAID PINS, AND SAID PANEL BEING ALLOWED TO FREELY EXPAND IN THIS RELEASED STATE UNTIL A PAD BODY IS OBTAINED WHICH HAS A CONVEX CURVATURE ON BOTH OF ITS FACES.