US 4,051,809 AGranted

Apparatus for cleaning and coating an elongated metallic member

AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.

InventorsFrank R. Zickar, Paul Voytik

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Abstract

Apparatus for continuously cleaning and electrostatically coating an elongated metallic member, which apparatus is especially suitable for uniformly coating copper and aluminum wire having a rectangular cross-sectional configuration. An electrically grounded, rectangular wire is continuously moved in a horizontal plane, while held under constant tension, through apparatus which chemically etches the wire, and which then provides a cloud of electrostatically charged, heat fusible particles about the clean wire. The charged particles are attracted to the grounded wire and the apparatus further includes baffles at predetermined strategic locations in the cloud which provide a uniform deposit of particles on all sides of the wire. The apparatus then heats the wire to a predetermined elevated temperature to melt the particles and cure the resulting film to provide a tenacious insulating coating on the wire.

Claims17

Dependent claims

Apparatus for applying an insulating coating or an elongated, continuously moving, metallic member having first, second, third and fourth planar surfaces which define a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, comprising:

a coating chamber,
a bed of finely divided, heat fusible particles of electrical insulating material in said coating chamber,
means providing a cloud of electrostatically charged particles above said bed,
means moving the metallic member through said cloud of particles, with the first planar surface horizontally oriented above said bed, said second and third planar surfaces extending vertically upward from opposite sides of the first planar surface, and said fourth planar surface parallel to the first planar surface,
means electrically grounding the metallic member to cause said charged particles to adhere to the metallic member as it passes through said cloud,
baffle means disposed in said chamber to provide a substantially uniform deposit of particles on the planar surfaces of the metallic member, said baffle means including a first baffle member disposed between the bed of particles and the first planar surface of the metallic member, with said first baffle member having a width dimension which exceeds the width of the first planar surface, and second and third baffle members spaced from the vertically extending second and third planar surfaces, respectively, said second and third baffle members each having first surfaces dimensioned and oriented such that extensions of the first and fourth planar surfaces of the metallic member intersect these first surfaces, providing acute angles above the intersecting extended planes and first surfaces of the second and third baffle members,
and means fusing the particles deposited on the metallic member to provide a substantially uniform insulating coating on the metallic member.

4 more elements

Apparatus for applying an insulating coating on an elongated, continuously moving, metallic member, comprising:

a coating chamber,
a gas permeable insulting member disposed in said coating chamber,
a bed of finely divided, heat fusible particles of electrical insulating material disposed on said gas permeable insulating member,
gas permeable electrode means spaced below said gas permeable insulating member,
an electrical power supply connected to said electrode means,
means directing a gas upwardly through said gas permeable electrode means and through said gas permeable insulating member to provide a cloud of electrostatically charged particles above said bed,
said coating chamber including inlet and outlet apertures through which the metallic member passes, with the inlet and outlet apertures being located to direct the metallic member through said cloud,
and a diffuser member disposed between said gas permeable electrode means and said gas permeable insulating member such that the gas strikes said diffuser member as it leaves said gas permeable electrode means,
said diffuser member having a plurality of openings disposed therethrough which direct a predetermined portion of the gas through the diffuser member while deflecting the remaining portion of the gas about the outer edges thereof.

6 more elements

Apparatus for applying an insulating coating on an elongated, continuously moving, metallic member having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, with one of the rectangular cross-sectional dimensions of the metallic member being smaller than the other dimension, comprising:

a coating chamber,
a gas permeable insulating member disposed in said coating chamber,
a bed of finely divided, heat fusible particles of electrical insulating material disposed on said gas permeable insulating member,
gas permeable electrode means spaced below said gas permeable insulating member,
an electrical power supply connected to said electrode means,
means directing a gas upwardly through said gas permeable electrode means and through said gas permeable insulating member to provide a cloud of electrostatically charged particles above said bed,
said coating chamber including inlet and outlet apertures through which the metallic member passes, with the inlet and outlet apertures being located to direct the metallic member through said cloud,
said metallic member being oriented in the cloud of insulating particles with two of its sides parallel to the bed of particles, and including means orienting the metallic member in the cloud of insulating particles such that its sides parallel to the bed of particles are associated with the small cross-sectional dimension,
means grounding the metallic member to cause electrostatically charged particles in the cloud to adhere to and deposit on the metallic member,
a diffuser member disposed between said gas permeable electrode means and said gas permeable insulating member such that the gas strikes said diffuser member as it leaves said gas permeable electrode means,
said diffuser member having a plurality of openings disposed therethrough which direct a predetermined portion of the gas through the diffuser member while deflecting the remaining portion of the gas about the outer edges thereof,
and including baffle means disposed in the cloud about the metallic member to cause the particles to deposit uniformly on all sides of the metallic member, said baffle means including a first baffle member disposed between the metallic member and the bed of particles.

9 more elements

Apparatus for applying an insulating coating on an elongated, continuously moving, metallic member having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, comprising:

a coating chamber,
a gas permeable insulating member disposed in said coating chamber,
a bed of finely divided, heat fusible particles of electrical insulating material disposed on said gas permeable insulating member,
gas permeable electrode means spaced below said gas permeable insulating member,
an electrical power supply connected to said electrode means,
means directing a gas upwardly through said gas permeable electrode means and through said gas permeable insulating member to provide a cloud of electrostatically charged particles above said bed,
said coating chamber including inlet and outlet apertures through which the metallic member passes, with the inlet and outlet apertures being located to direct the metallic member through said cloud, said metallic member being oriented in the cloud of insulating particles with two of its sides parallel to the bed of particles,
means grounding the metallic member to cause electrostatically charged particles in the cloud to adhere to and deposit on the metallic member,
a diffuser member disposed between said gas permeable electrode means and said gas permeable insulating member such that the gas strikes said diffuser member as it leaves said gas permeable electrode means,
said diffuser member having a plurality of openings disposed therethrough which direct a predetermined portion of the gas through the diffuser member while deflecting the remaining portion of the gas about the outer edges thereof,
and baffle means disposed in the cloud about the metallic member to cause the particles to deposit uniformly on all sides of the metallic member,
said baffle means including first, second and third baffle means, with the first baffle member being disposed between the metallic member and the bed of particles, and with the second and third baffle members being disposed on opposite sides of the metallic member and oriented to deflect the cloud of particles from a substantially vertical orientation towards and above the upper surface of the rectangular configuration of the metallic member.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.