Device for manufacturing cushion or mattress elements in supple cellular material

A device for manufacturing cushion and mattress elements made of supple, open-cell cellular matter obtained by casting a mixture of at least two basic components in a mould, the device comprising:

• a head and a mechanical means for displacing said head above said mould and ensuring said mixture and said casting of the product thus formed, which, by reaction of its components, expands and fills the whole volume of said mould for constituting said cellular matter, and a means for transferring said mould between a preparation station and a casting station located beneath said head, and means for maneuvering a cover to close it on the mould, maintain it fixed for a time greater than that of maturing of the cellular matter obtained, and then for re-opening it, said device further comprising:
• a circular mould-transfer carrousel rotatable about a vertical central pin and comprising at least five mould locations for a plurality of moulds, said moulds comprising a plurality of hollow recesses opening out in their upper part in a common volume constituting a continuous sole of said cushions and mattresses, said carrousel ensuring displacement of said moulds between at least the product casting station, a station where the cushion and mattress element produced is removed from the mould and a preparation station where a demoulding agent is projected over the whole surface of the mould, said moulds are disposed regularly in a ring to occupy at the same time at least all the stations, then one after the other, upon each step of rotation of the carrousel;
• said mechanical means capable of displacing said head along a continuous path covering at least all the recesses of the mould and at a speed ensuring, on the one hand, for a given flowrate of casting of the product, a desired distribution thereof, and, on the other hand, a total time of passage over the path less than the maximum expansion time of the product projected at the beginning of said path, said device further comprising:
• property and positioning sensors associated with the mould-transfer carrousel and mechanical means for sensing a physical property and position of at least one of the mould-transfer carrousel and mechanical means, and at least one automat means responsive to the physical property and positioning sensors for controlling at least one of the mould-transfer carrousel and mechanical means.