Patent ID: 7293971

Claim:
An apparatus for making loose fill elements comprising an extruder for extruding a heat-plastified mass of thermoplastic material containing an expanding agent therethrough, said extruder having a die at one end with at least one orifice disposed on a vertical axis for extrusion of the heat-plastified mass therethrough in a vertically downward direction in the form of an elongated extrudate, said orifice having a C-shaped cross-section to form said extrudate with a C-shaped cross-section having a pair of legs defining an opening therebetween; a tank disposed below said die for holding a bath of liquid therein for cooling of the extrudate into a latent foaming state; at least one guide roller mounted in said tank for immersion within a bath of liquid therein and for passage of the extrudate thereover with the legs of said C-shaped cross-section directed away from said guide roller; a pelletizer downstream of said tank, said pelletizer including at least a pair of pull rollers for pulling the cooled extrudate through said tank and about said guide roller and a cutter for cutting the cooled extrudate passing from said pull rollers into discrete pellets whereby upon passage about said guide roller, one of the legs of the extrudate deforms inwardly towards the other of said legs to at least partially close the opening therebetween.