The invention involves a procedure for feeding plastic granulate into the intake opening of a plastic extruder with a storage tank, which is provided with a conveying device for filling it with a specified fill quantity and with a closable discharge mouth on the bottom, and with an intermediate storage tank--resting on a weighing device, or provided with a fill level measuring device--which is filled from the storage tank with a specified fill quantity when it has emptied down to a predetermined remaining quantity, and which has a discharge on the bottom flowing into the intake opening in which the specified quantity by weight of plastic material processed for the particular batch is determined by the rotations of the extruder screw.

With extruder dies fed by plastic extruder in the manufacture of plastic products, for example profiles, tubes or blown films, the quantity involved in a batch is typically determined by the quantity, specified by weight, of the plastic granulate loaded into the extruder. The manufactured extruded plastic products have a specific weight per meter, so that, from the weight of the plastic material used, the quantity involved in a batch can also be determined according to running meters. Since a plastic extruder draws in a very precise quantity of plastic granulate, determined by weight, per rotation of its screw, the quantity of plastic material specified by weight processed by an extruder can be determined simply by the number of screw rotations. If a manufacturing process for a running batch of the type specified in the introduction, for example in a procedure known from DE 40 27 319 A1, ends when the rotations of the extruder screw corresponding to the batch quantity have been counted, unprocessed plastic granulate is typically still found in the storage and intermediate storage tanks. Should a subsequent batch then be run with a different recipe, that is with another plastic granulate, after the end of the batch, the leftover plastic granulate from the storage tank and the intermediate storage tank must be removed. This material is typically not processed for other batches, but instead discarded.

The instant inventive plastic extruder screw tip solves the above described problem by providing a plurality of cantilevered or laterally extending dashers which move rotatably through the plastic melt as the melt travels through the extrusion dye adapter, such dashers passing through the above described areas which are prone to plastic melt stagnation. The rotary movement of the dashers within the extrusion dye adapter prevents plastic stagnation from occurring, and prevents undesirable discoloration and degradation of plastic extrusion products.

Plastic melt which emits from the downstream output end of the above described "figure 8" shaped extruder barrel bore is necessarily conveyed to an extrusion die for final forming into useful extruded plastic products. An extrusion die adapter is typically utilized to achieve such conveyance, such adapter typically comprising a second axially mounted barrel section whose hollow bore has a "figure 8" shaped input end closely matching the cross-sectional shape of the bore of the first barrel, and whose output end comprises a single smaller channel, typically having a circular cross-sectional shape. The walls of the hollow bore of such extrusion die adapter necessarily define a melt flow conveying channel extending between the "figure 8" shaped input end and the smaller circular channel output end. The wall of the upstream end of such bore typically defines a pair of laterally intersecting conical concavities which taper inwardly and forwardly toward the output end of the adapter.

Heated plastic melt flow within such intersecting conical concavities is commonly irregular, resulting in stagnation of melt on or near the surface of such concavities at or near their input ends. Such melt stagnation undesirably results in hardening and adhesion of small portions of plastic melt upon the interior walls of the adapter. Such hardening and adhesion progressively results in degradation of the hardened plastic which undesirably tends to release into plastic melt which flows downstream into extrusion dyes, resulting in undesirable discoloration and degradation of the final plastic extrusion product.

An essential structural component of the instant inventive plastic extruder screw tip comprises an inwardly and forwardly tapered melt converging surface. Preferably, a rearward end of such surface is circular and has a diameter sufficient to co-extensively cover the downstream end of the root of an extruder screw upon which the inventive plastic extruder screw tip is to be mounted. A preferred shape of such melt converging surface is conic, coming to a forwardly extending point, and defining the terminal downstream end of such plastic extruder screw. Suitably, the melt converging surface may be alternately shaped conically (i.e., approximating a cone), spherically (i.e., the domed shape of a section of a sphere), spheroidally (i.e., shapes approximating that of a section of a sphere), or ellipsoidally (i.e., shapes approximating the shape of a section of an ellipsoid); all such shapes facilitating downstream convergence without eddying and stagnation of plastic melt flowing there over.

The present invention is an improved portable shower and bath mat which may also be used as a portable drying mat following the bath or shower.

A problem commonly encountered by outdoorsmen is that outdoor bathing facilities are often susceptible to dirt and grit being tracked into the shower area from the outdoors. Such problem exists at public camping facilities and at beaches.

Under these circumstances, a bather is often in the position of having to step into a shower facility having a dirty or sandy floor, and then, after showering and attempting to completely clean the feet, the bather must stand on the dirty orsandy floor to dry. Finally, the bather must place his socks and shoes on after standing on the dirty or sandy floor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable shower or bath mat which can serve initially as a shower mat during the shower and which then dries and drains quickly to provide a clean and dry surface on which the bathercan stand following the shower.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable shower or bath mat which can be easily and compactly carried by an outdoorsman.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a portable shower or bath mat which is durable and which can be re-used frequently and over a long period of time.

The foregoing objects and still further objects will be understood based upon the following Description of a Preferred Embodiment and Drawings, in which the parts described in the Specification are all shown by like numbered parts in thedrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the portable bath or shower mat in use.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper surface of an improved portable bath or shower mat in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom surface of an improved portable bath or shower mat as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper surface of a second improved portable bath or shower mat in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bottom surface of an improved portable bath or shower mat as shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description sets forth a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It will be understood that there are other embodiments of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment.

The preferred embodiment of the improved portable bath or shower mat is made of high-density styrofoam having a non-slip bottom surface. The mat may be any shape or any size compatible with the floor of a shower stall 1 or the bottom of a bathtub as shown in FIG. 1. For example, the mat may be a rectangular mat as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 or it may be a round or oval mat in shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.