Tubular extrusion apparatus

Claim 1

A side-fed tubular extrusion die comprising: a sidewall defining the exterior of said die, an inlet orifice in said sidewall for introducing a molten resin into said die, a first toroidal-shaped chamber located interiorly of said die in communication with said inlet for receiving a molten resin introduced through said inlet orifice, a second toroidal-shaped chamber located interiorly of said die and substantially concentric with said first chamber, an annular interior die wall separating said first and second chambers, a plurality of openings provided in and spaced along said interior die wall, said openings interconnecting said first and second chambers to allow said second chamber to receive a molten resin from said first chamber, the cross-sectional area of said openings progressively increasing from an opening closest to said inlet orifice to an opening farthest removed from said inlet orifice, a said opening closest to said inlet orifice being out of axial registration with said inlet orifice to prevent said molten resin from taking a straight path from said inlet orifice through said closest opening and into said second chamber, and an extrusion gap defined by a mandrel positioned coaxially within said die and an interior die sidewall coaxial with said mandrel, said extrusion gap receiving molten resin from said second toroidal-shaped chamber.