Apparatus for high speed manifolding of honeycomb structures

The combination comprising:

• a honeycomb structure having a multiplicity of hollow cells, including a subset of said cells, extending therein from an open surface thereof and with open ends exposed at said open surface;
• and
• a flexible mask applied to said open surface and comprising a solid flexible body having a pair of opposing outer faces, a first one of said outer faces applied to said open surface, a plurality of openings extending through said body between and through said pair of opposing outer faces, said openings aligned opposite the cells of said subset, and a plurality of flexible protrusions extending from said first one of the opposing outer faces and engaging an equal plurality of said open ends of the cells other than the cells of said subset.

A mask for use in the fabrication of a particulate filter, the mask being used to apply a filler material to plug alternate openings in an extruded ceramic monolith element of the type having a continuous outer wall internally interconnected by a large number of interlaced thin porous internal walls defining parallel passages extending longitudinally through the ceramic monolith element from opposite end faces thereof with the passages being of substantially uniform cross section and arranged in vertical and horizontal rows when viewed in elevation of a said end face thereof to define a honeycomb matrix;

• said mask, of flexible elastomeric material, includes a flat base member of a size and shape complementary to a said end face whereby it can be placed in abutment thereagainst, said base member having a plurality of equally spaced apart flexible pins extending outward from one face thereof with said pins arranged in a checkerboard configuration, said pins being of a size and shape for insertion into said passages, said base having a plurality of equally spaced apertures extending therethrough with said apertures arranged intermediate adjacent said pins, said apertures being of a size and shape whereby a filler material can be extruded therethrough into the associate aligned alternate passages of the monolith element whereby to effect blocking of that end of said passages.