Bonding apparatus for thermoplastic coated materials

Bonding apparatus for securing thermoplastic-adhesive coated thread to a substrate moving over a reactive surface at a bonding station, comprising:

• (a) guide means having an elongate guide chamber for directing a thermoplastic-adhesive coated thread from a thread source and to a bonding station, said guide chamber extending from a receptor end to an output orifice lying adjacent said bonding station;
• (b) means cooperatively connected with said guide means for heating said coated thread as said thread proceeds through said guide chamber such that the adhesive coating overlying any length of said thread attains bonding consistency by the time that length of said coated thread emerges from said output orifice;
• (c) bonding shoe means having a generally planar shoe bonding surface, for pressing said heated thread leaving said output orifice into bonding engagement with a substrate moving over the reactive surface at said bonding station;
• (d) means for mounting said bonding shoe such that said shoe bonding surface cooperatively addresses and lies generally parallel to said reactive surface and directly adjacent said output orifice, whereby said heated thread emerging from said output orifice immediately passes across and in engagement with said shoe bonding surface and is pressed thereby into bonding engagement upon the moving substrate;
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• (e) bias means for urging said bonding shoe surface toward said reactive surface, thereby sandwiching the moving substrate and heated thread therebetween, at a selectable bonding force.

Bonding apparatus for securing thermoplastic-adhesive coated thread to a substrate moving over a reactive surface at a bonding station, comprising:

• (a) guide means having an elongate guide chamber for directing a thermoplastic-adhesive coated thread from a thread source and to a bonding station, said guide chamber extending from a receptor end to an output orifice lying adjacent said bonding station;
• (b) means cooperatively connected with said guide means for heating said coated thread as said thread proceeds through said guide chamber such that the adhesive coating overlying any length of said thread attains bonding consistency by the time that length of said coated thread emerges from said output orifice;
• (c) bonding shoe means having a generally planar shoe bonding surface for maintaining the physical thermoplastic consistency of said heated thread leaving said output orifice, for subsequent bonding engagement at said bonding station;
• (d) means for mounting said bonding shoe such that said shoe bonding surface cooperatively addresses and lies generally parallel to and slightly spaced apart from said reactive surface and directly adjacent said output orifice;
• (e) nip and cooling roller means having a roller mounted such that the tangential contact portion of said roller surface lies generally coplanar with and immediately adjacent to said shoe bonding surface, for pressing and setting said heated thread having passed across in engagement with said bonding shoe surface at said bonding station, into bonding engagement upon the moving substrate;
• (f) bias means for urging said lower bonding surface toward the moving substrate at the bonding station, thereby sandwiching the moving substrate and heated thread between the roller surface and an underlying reactive surface, at a selectable bonding force.