Extrusion apparatus for foil-covered, hollow plastic bodies

Claim 1

Extrusion apparatus comprising: (a) a die member formed with a passage extending therethrough in a predetermined direction of extrusion, (1) said die member having a front face transverse to said direction, (2) said passage terminating in an orifice in said front face; (b) a mandrel member secured in said passage, (1) said members defining an extrusion gap therebetween in said orifice, (2) said gap extending about said mandrel member in a closed loop, (3) said front face being formed with a recess contiguously adjacent said orifice, (4) said recess being of substantially cylindrically arcuate cross section about an axis transverse to said direction, (5) said mandrel member being formed with at least one slot therethrough open in said direction of extrusion and transversely to said direction, (6) said at least one slot connecting two portions of said gap and separating a plurality of finger portions of said mandrel member, (7) one of said finger portions projecting outward of said orifice beyond another finger portion of said mandrel member, said one finger portion having a side face extending in said direction of extrusion and transverse to said axis; (c) a cylindrical roller mounted in said recess for rotation about said axis, (1) said roller defining a first portion of a channel jointly with said die member in said recess and a second portion of said channel with said mandrel member, (2) said second portion being tangential to said first portion in a plane perpendicular to said axis, (3) said portions directly communicating with each other; (d) feeding means operatively associated with said first portion for feeding a foil to said first portion; and (e) means adjacent said mandrel member for draping a foil fed to said first portion of said channel by said feeding means about said side face of said one finger portion.