Apparatus for producing a body of porous thermoplastic material

Apparatus for manufacturing a body of porous thermoplastic material having the form of a continuously advancing strand made from granules containing an expanding agent, said apparatus comprising

• means defining an elongate channel open at both ends, said means including two endless belts each having one reach thereof mounted to form one of two opposite sides, respectively, of said channel, and movable from an intake at one end of the channel to an outlet at its opposite end,
• a casing connected to the intake end of said channel,
• a plurality of spaced ejectors associated with said casing and having discharge ends opening on the interior thereof,
• means operatively associated with said ejectors for connecting said ejectors to a source of compressed air and to a source of granules containing an expanding agent, and operable for feeding said granules by compressed air successively through said ejectors and casing and into said channel through the intake end thereof, and
• a plurality of steam ducts extending through said casing and into said channel through the intake end thereof for supplying steam to the granules after entry thereof into said channel,
• said ejectors having the discharge ends thereof spaced from and directed toward the intake end of said channel, and
• said steam ducts having the discharge ends thereof opening in said channel inwardly of the intake end thereof, whereby steam is applied to the granules after entry thereof into said channel, said steam ducts being disposed in one row registering approximately with the center of the channel and pass through said casing and into the intake end of said channel, and said ejectors are connected to said casing with the discharge ends thereof positioned to direct granules toward the intake end of the channel from above and below, respectively, said steam ducts.