Patent ID: 7384490
Filing Date: 2008-06-10
Classification: B29C,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method for manufacturing a rubber roller including a metal shaft and an open cell rubber material provided on an outer surface of the metal, comprising the steps of: cutting a predetermined length of a cylindrical hollow foamed rubber tube containing a large number of independent cells which are isolated by separation walls between adjacent ones of the cells, inserting a metal shaft having circular cross section into the cut length of rubber tube to produce a rubber roller having a continuous cell rubber layer containing a number of independent cells, placing said rubber roller in a chamber, increasing internal pressure in the chamber to compress the independent cells in a radially inward direction of the roller and accumulate expansion energy within the continuous cell rubber layer, such that compression forces created are uniformly distributed across the metal shaft, and thereafter decompressing the chamber rapidly to thereby expand the compressed cells in the rubber layer rapidly whereby holes or cracks are formed in the separation walls between the adjacent cells, and the independent cells within the continuous cell rubber layer are transformed into open cells by the expansion force.