Patent ID: 8162651

Claim:
An apparatus for continuously producing polymer foam sheets or planks from starting polymer foam material comprising virgin and/or postindustrial polymer foam materials that have been comminuted into particles, the apparatus comprising: a metering device including a moving conveyor and being structured and arranged to meter the particles, which are free of any added binder or adhesive, from a storage location onto the moving conveyor at a controlled volumetric rate so as to continuously form a layer of the particles on the conveyor, the metering device including a variable dispensing device to dispense the particles onto the conveyor, the variable dispensing device being variable in geometry for adjusting a size of an opening through which the particles are dispensed so as to regulate the volumetric rate at which the particles are dispensed; a heating device structured and arranged to heat the layer of particles to a temperature sufficient to render the particles tacky such that the particles adhere to one another so as to form a substantially integral sheet; a compression device structured and arranged to apply pressure on the advancing sheet so as to compress the sheet to a smaller thickness and enhance the integrity of the sheet; and a cooling device for cooling the compressed sheet.