Apparatus for applying lubricating materials to metallic substrates

Apparatus for electrostatically dispersing tiny spheroids of lubricating material onto a moving electrically conductive substrate, said apparatus comprising:

• means providing a supply of said lubricating material in liquid form;
• means forming a cloud of finely divided spheroids from said supply of liquid lubricating material;
• means providing a housing through which said conductive substrate is passable longitudinally thereof, said housing forming a chamber sufficiently remote from the moving conductive substrate to maintain a substantially quiescent atmosphere of spheroids of lubricating material within said chamber;
• means providing electrodes being spaced from said moving substrate within said chamber and adapted to inhibit the collection of lubricating material thereupon;
• means producing an electrical ionization discharge within said chamber by creating a voltage differential between said moving substrate and said electrodes;
• means drifting said airborne spheroids into said chamber;
• said means drifting including means to maintain substantially all of said spheroids in a substantially quiescent state and to introduce the spheroids into the chamber at a location substantially free of ionization discharge for drifting into said chamber and to permit substantially all of the spheroids to be charged in a substantially quiescent atmosphere and to move toward the substrate surface substantially entirely by the influence of electrostatic forces.

An apparatus for applying a lubricating material upon a metallic substrate comprising:

• means for generating a supply of finely divided particles having an average particle size of less than about 10 microns diameter;
• first means associated with said generating means for containing the supply of finely divided particles within a closely confined space;
• second means being located adjacent said first means and including an electrically non-conductive housing several times greater in volume than said first means to maintain a substantially quiescent atmosphere of particles and to support an electrode means adapted to inhibit the collection of lubricating material thereupon;
• means for impressing a high direct current potential across the substrate and said electrode means situated within said second means, said electrode means extending transversely the width of the substrate and defining one terminus of an electrostatic field;
• and
• means for advancing the substrate through said field.

An apparatus for dispersing small lubricating particles substantially uniformly and randomly across at least one surface of a moving conductive substrate, comprising:

• means for forming a plurality of particles of a lubricant and
• means for separating and providing particles having an average size of less than about ten microns diameter;
• a precipitation chamber formed by a housing extending about at least one surface of said substrate;
• means for slowly migrating said particles from said separating means into said precipitation chamber, said means including an orifice into said chamber, said precipitation chamber having sufficient depth remote from the moving substrate to maintain said particles in a uniform substantially quiescent cloud distributed throughout and moving randomly within said chamber;
• a charging electrode means positioned in said precipitation chamber and adapted to inhibit the collection of lubricant thereon, said orifice through which particles migrate into said chamber being located remote from the charging electrode means;
• and
• means for energizing said charging electrode means to provide an ionization discharge to charge the atmosphere about said electrode means and said randomly moving particles within said chamber and to accelerate said particles onto said moving substrate.

Apparatus for electrostatically depositing normally non-fluid lubricating material on a substrate comprising:

• a housing having at least one opening and encompassing the substrate on at least one side;
• means to move the substrate into and out of the housing along a path;
• heating means to liquefy the normally non-fluid material;
• means to form the liquefied material into a spray of finely divided particles and to permit the return of the spray of finely divided particles to their normally non-fluid state and to supply said spray to said housing for deposition on the substrate;
• electrode means within the housing and spaced from the path of the substrate;
• high voltage means connected to said electrode means to create electrostatic charging and deposition of the spray particles on the substrate;
• and
• means to heat said electrode means and prevent an accumulation of non-fluid material on said electrode means.

Apparatus for manufacturing a lubricated substrate of electrically conductive material comprising:

• a housing of electrically non-conductive material having at least one opening, encompassing the substrate on at least one side and being structured to provide a chamber remote from the substrate and to maintain a substantially quiescent atmosphere within the chamber;
• first means to liquefy a normally non-fluid lubricating material;
• second means to divide the liquefied lubricating material into a spray, to remove from said spray the larger particles whose weight to diameter ratio is such that they will not remain suspended in substantially quiescent atmosphere, to permit the return of the spray of remaining finely divided particles to their normal non-fluid state and to deliver an airborne suspension of the remaining particles to said housing on said at least one side of the substrate;
• electrode means within the housing and spaced from said at least one side of the substrate;
• and
• means to apply voltage to said electrode means of sufficient magnitude to create a charging field to charge and deposit small particles of lubricating material on said substrate from the substantially quiescent atmosphere within the housing.

Apparatus for electrostatically depositing normally non-fluid lubricating material on a substrate comprising:

• a housing having at least one opening and encompassing the substrate on at least one side;
• means to move the substrate into and out of the housing along a path;
• heating means to liquefy the normally non-fluid material;
• means to form the liquefied material into a spray of finely divided particles and to permit the return of the spray of finely divided particles to their normal non-fluid state and to supply said spray to said housing for deposition on the substrate;
• wire electrode means supported within the housing and spaced from the path of the substrate;
• high voltage means connected to said electrode means to create electrostatic charging and deposition of the spray particles on the substrate;
• and
• low voltage means to create a flow of current in said wire electrode means to heat said electrode means and prevent an accumulation of non-fluid material on said electrode means.

Apparatus for electrostatically dispersing tiny spheroids of lubricating material onto a moving electrically conductive substrate, said apparatus comprising:

• means providing a supply of said lubricating material in liquid form;
• means forming a cloud of finely divided spheroids from said supply of liquid lubricating material;
• means providing a housing through which said conductive substrate is passable longitudinally thereof;
• means providing electrodes within said housing, said electrodes being spaced from said moving substrate;
• means for heating said electrodes to prevent any accumulation of said lubricating material thereon;
• means producing an electrical ionization discharge within said housing by applying a voltage differential between said moving substrate and said electrodes;
• means drifting said airborne spheroids into said ionization discharge to permit an electrical charge to accumulate on said spheroids;
• said means drifting including means to maintain substantially all of said spheroids in a substantially quiescent state and to permit substantially all of the charged spheroids to move toward the substrate surface substantially entirely by the influence of electrostatic forces.

Apparatus for forming a lubricious surface on a moving metallic substrate, comprising:

• means for heating a non-fluid lubricating material to provide a liquid supply of lubricating material;
• means for forming a plurality of finely divided fluid particles of lubricating material having a diameter to weight ratio such that the particles will remain substantially suspended in atmosphere;
• means providing a housing having at least one opening, encompassing the substrate on at least one side and adapted to maintain a substantially quiesent atmosphere within the housing;
• means to deliver a substantially quiescent cloud of particles of lubricating material within the housing in their normal non-fluid state;
• electrode means within the housing spaced from the path of the substrate and located within the substantially quiescent atmosphere, said electrode means being adapted in size and shape to create an ionization discharge when connected to a source of high voltage and adapted to inhibit the collection of lubricating material thereupon;
• means to move the substrate into and out of the housing along a path;
• and
• high voltage means to charge said electrode means to such electrical potential to create an ionization discharge and charging and deposition of the particles of lubricating material on the substrate within the housing.

Apparatus for electrostatically dispersing tiny spheroids of lubricating material onto a moving electrically conductive substrate, said apparatus comprising:

• means providing a supply of normally non-fluid lubricating material in liquid form and forming a cloud of finely divided spheroids including:
• a substantially closed container housing with an outlet port at the upper portion thereof and including means to liquefy said lubricating material and to provide said supply of liquid lubricating material and further including means to atomize said liquefied lubricating material by compressed air, said air-atomizing means directing a flow of compressed air through an orifice downwardly toward said supply of liquid lubricating material and generally away from said outlet port, and
• means supplying a stream of said liquefied lubricating material to said air atomizing means to be broken into liquid spheroids of various sizes and propelled downwardly towards said supply of liquid lubricating material and away from said outlet port to remove the larger particles whereby said finely divided spheroids flow out through said outlet port;
• means providing a housing through which said conductive substrate is passable longitudinally thereof;
• means providing electrodes being spaced from said moving substrate;
• means producing an electrical ionization discharge within said housing by creating a voltage differential between said moving substrate and said electrodes;
• means drifting said airborne spheroids into said ionization discharge to permit an electrical charge to accumulate on said spheroids;
• said means drifting including means to maintain substantially all of said spheroids in a substantially quiescent state and to permit substantially all of the charged spheroids to move toward the substrate surface substantially entirely by the influence of electrostatic forces.

Apparatus for manufacturing lubricated substrate comprising

• means forming a deposition chamber of electrically non-conductive material;
• means to move the substrate into and out of the chamber along a path;
• charging electrode means supported by said means forming the deposition chamber within said chamber and spaced apart from the path of the substrate and adapted to create an ionization discharge and to inhibit the collection of lubricating material thereupon;
• means to liquefy a normally non-fluid lubricating material, to form a spray of particles from the liquefied lubricating material, to divide from said spray the spray particles whose weight to diameter ratio is such that they will not remain suspended in a substantially quiescent atmosphere and to direct the remaining particles in a substantially quiescent state into the deposition chamber at a location spaced apart from the charging electrode means while permitting their return to their normally non-fluid state;
• and
• means to apply voltage to said electrode means of sufficient magnitude to create an ionization discharge and to charge and deposit particles of lubricating material on the substrate.

Apparatus for manufacturing a lubricated substrate comprising

• a housing having at least one opening and encompassing the substrate on at least one side;
• means to move the substrate into and out of the housing along a path;
• means to form a spray of particles from a normally non-fluid lubricating material, to remove from the spray the larger particles whose weight to diameter ratio is such that they will not remain suspended in a substantially quiescent atmosphere, to permit the return of the spray of remaining finely divided particles to their normal non-fluid state, and to deliver an airborne suspension of the remaining particles to said housing in a substantially quiescent state;
• electrode means within the housing spaced from the path of the substrate, said electrode means being adapted in size and shape to create an ionization discharge when connected with a source of high voltage and to inhibit the collection of lubricating material thereupon;
• and
• means to apply voltage to said electrode means of sufficient magnitude to create an ionization discharge and to charge and deposit said particles of lubricating material on the substrate.