Cam die coating systems
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsJonathan J. O'Hare, Karl K. Stensvad, Daniel H. Carlson, Glen A. Jerry, Mikhail L. Pekurovsky, Gary W. Maier, James Zhu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Coating apparatuses and methods are provided for direct coatings with various shapes. The coating apparatus includes a die body with one or more bores. One or more cams are pivotally mounted within the bores and have one or more recessed areas formed into the respective peripheral surfaces thereof. The one or more cams are rotatable within the die body to dynamically, independently vary the width or shape of the respectively dispensed one or more fluid coatings.
Claims24
A coating apparatus comprising:
- a die body including an inner wall defining a bore and a dispensing opening extending along a cross direction;
- a cam having at least a portion being pivotally mounted within the bore, the cam comprising one or more recessed areas formed into a peripheral surface of the cam, the recessed areas of the cam being capable of intersecting with the dispensing opening of the die body to form one or more fluid connection regions;
- a seal plate being attached to the die body and configured to provide sealing engagement therebetween, the seal plate including an opening aligned with the dispensing opening of the die body;
- wherein the peripheral surface of the cam is in sealing engagement with the seal plate to at least partially block the opening of the seal plate, and the cam is rotatable about a central axis thereof within the die body to vary the fluid connection regions such that a width or shape of a dispensed fluid coating is dynamically changeable.
8-10. (canceled)
14-18. (canceled)
The coating apparatus of claim 17 further comprising a control system functionally connected to the cam and the pump to simultaneously control the rotation of the cam and the flow rate.
A method comprising:
- providing a die body including an inner wall defining a bore and a dispensing opening extending along a cross direction;
- providing a cam having at least a portion being pivotally mounted within the bore, the cam comprising one or more recessed areas formed into a peripheral surface of the cam, the recessed areas of the cam being capable of intersecting with the dispensing opening of the die body to form one or more fluid connection regions;
- providing a seal plate attached to the die body and configured to provide sealing engagement therebetween, the seal plate including an opening aligned with the dispensing opening of the die body, and the peripheral surface of the cam being configured to be in sealing engagement with the seal plate to at least partially block the opening of the seal plate;
- supplying fluid at a flow rate into the bore of the die body;
- and
- rotating the cam about a central axis thereof within the die body while dispensing the fluid to vary the fluid connection regions such that a width or shape of a dispensed fluid coating is dynamically changeable.
A coating apparatus comprising:
- a die body;
- a plurality of bores including first and second bores inside the die body, the bores extending along a cross direction of the die body and being fluidly separated from each other;
- and
- a plurality of cams including first and second cams each having at least a portion being pivotally mounted within the respective first or second bore to control dispensing of a first or second fluid material therefrom, the first and second cams each comprising one or more recessed areas formed into a peripheral surface thereof;
- and
- a dispensing zone configured to dispense the first and second fluid materials,
- wherein the cams are rotatable within the die body such that a width or shape of a first fluid coating of the first fluid material and a second fluid coating of the second fluid material are dynamically, independently changeable.
27-47. (canceled)
A method comprising:
- providing a die body having a plurality of bores including first and second bores each extending along a cross direction;
- providing a plurality of cams including first and second cams each having at least a portion being pivotally mounted within the respective first and second bores, the first and second cams each comprising one or more recessed areas formed into a peripheral surface of the respective cam;
- providing a dispensing zone configured to dispense a plurality of fluid materials including first and second fluid materials;
- and
- controlling, via rotation of the first and second cams inside the respective bores, dispensing of first and second fluid materials onto a moving substrate to form a first fluid coating of the first fluid material and a second fluid coating of the second fluid material such that a width or shape of the first fluid coating and a width or shape of the second fluid coating are dynamically, independently changeable.
50-52. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.