Patent ID: 6668698
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: B26D,B29C,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for shaping a cellular polymer material by cutting portions from a surface of the material, comprising:establishing a predetermined gap between a compression roller and a cooperating surface; interposing in the gap between the compression roller and the cooperating surface a moving patterned platform forming a continuous circuit and defining at least one recess, wherein the at least one recess has a predetermined depth; driving the compression roller and the moving continuous patterned platform so that the surface speed of the compression roller is different from the speed at which the moving continuous patterned platform is driven; continuously feeding a slab of the cellular polymer material through the gap between the compression roller and the cooperating surface and compressing the slab while a surface of the slab is adjacent to the moving patterned platform so that the at least one recess is substantially filled by a portion of the cellular polymer material when the slab is compressed as it is passed through the gap between the compression roller and the cooperating surface; and transversely cutting from the slab with a blade, as the slab emerges from the gap between the compression roller and the cooperating surface, at least a fraction of the portion of the cellular material received within the recess of the patterned platform.