Method and apparatus for fabricating honeycomb insulating material
OwnerWendell B. Colsoninventor
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Abstract
The method and apparatus for fabricating honeycomb expandable insulation panels disclosed herein includes a method and apparatus for folding a continuous thin film of flexible plastic material into a uniform, open faced tubular configuration and for heat setting the folds in permanent sharp creases. It also includes a rotatable rack apparatus for continuously stacking successive lengths of the tubular formed plastic film one on top of another on flat surfaces and adhering them together in the form of a neat, uniform expandable panel of interior honeycomb cell configuration.
Claims20
The method of fabricating expandable honeycomb material, comprising the steps of:
- continuously folding a continuous length of tubular material at diametrically opposite sides into a flat tubular form
- passing said length of tubular material over a heated surface and heating the tubular material uniformly across its entire transverse cross section and then passing said length of tubular material over a cold surface and cooling the tubular material uniformly across its entire transverse cross section, while continuously maintaining a uniform tension on said tubular material as it passes over the heated and cold surfaces and while maintaining the folds during heating and cooling by pressing a plurality of rollers against the folded tubular material on said heated and cold surfaces;
- applying an adhesive material longitudinally along the length of said folded tubular material;
- stacking the continuous length of tubular material on a rack that has an elongated flat surface in such a manner that the tubular material is stacked on the flat surfaces in a plurality of adjacent layers one on another with the adhesive material positioned between each layer;
- allowing the adhesive material to adhere one layer to another to form a unitary stack on said flat surface;
- and
- cutting a straight section of the unitary stack on the flat surface away from the remainder of the stacked tubular material and removing it from the rack.
A honeycomb expandable panel fabricated by the process comprising the steps of:
- continuously creasing and folding the lateral edge portions of a flat flexible plastic film toward each other over the midportion thereof;
- continuously heat setting the folds in the film by heating the film over its entire width by pressing the film in contact with a heated surface, then cooling the film, and during the heating and cooling steps, maintaining a constant longitudinal tension on the film as well as a constant lateral crimping pressure on the folds in the film;
- continuously applying adhesive material to an external surface of the folded film, continuously winding the folded film under a constant tension around a rack having an elongated flat surface thereon in such a manner that successive loops of the film around the rack are placed uniformly one over another, allowing the adhesive material to adhere portions of the outside surfaces of adjacent layers of the film together, and cutting the portion of the stack positioned on the flat surface away from the remaining portions of the stack.
A honeycomb expandable panel fabricated by the process comprising the steps of creasing and folding the lateral edge portions of a flat flexible plastic film in such a manner that the lateral edge portions are folded over the mid-portion buy a width causing the edge portions to approach nearly but not overlap each other, and applying adhesive material to the external surfaces of the respective folded lateral edge portions, stacking successive lengths of the folded film in layers on a flat surface such that the lateral edge portions of each tubular folded film length stacked on the flat surface is adhered to the mid-section of the adjacent folded film length while the individual lengths of tubular film are free to open and close as the panel is extended and retracted.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.