Device for fabricating panels of expanded synthetic materials

Claim 1

An installation for the manufacture of panels of steam-expandable particulate synthetic material, possessing two groups of intercommunicating, intersecting, parallel, rectilinear tubular passages, which comprises a rectangular, parallelepipedal leaktight steam chamber provided with a gate on one of the short sides, inside which a tubular fixed mold of perforated steel plate is attached at a distance from the walls of the chamber, the shape of the mold corresponding to the external shape of the panel to be obtained, a first set of fixed, parallel, perforated metal tubes inside the mold, corresponding to one of the groups of tubular passages to be obtained in the panel, these tubes possessing lateral holes for the passage of a second set of perforated or non-perforated metal tubes firmly fixed to a movable external support, passing through one of the short walls of the steam chamber and capable of moving perpendicular to the tubes of the first set, passing through the latter, and this second set of tubes corresponding to the second group of tubular passages, and at least: an inlet valve for the partially expanded particulate synthetic material, an inlet for the steam and for a cooling fluid, and an extractor working in parallel with the tubes of the first group to push the molded panel out of the mold by causing it to slide over the tubes of the first group, one of the ends of the tubes located inside the steam chamber being closed, in the molding position, and provided with a nozzle for the injection of a cooling liquid, while the other end communicates with the steam chamber and while those ends of the movable tubes which are located on the outside are open.