Fibrous web saturator
AssigneeR & R Research & Development, Inc.
InventorRichard A. Reith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method to saturate a fibrous web. The apparatus comprises a sealed chamber divided to form a low pressure preparation zone and a high pressure treatment zone. Air is evacuated from the open area between the fibers in the web in the vacuum zone and liquid in the treatment zone is forced into the evacuated open area between the fibers in the web. A pair of nip rollers are submerged in liquid in the treatment zone for squeezing residual air and liquid from the open area between the fibers in the web to cause liquid to be drawn into the open area between the fibers in the web upon exiting the nip between the rollers.
Claims5
Apparatus to saturate a fibrous web with coating material comprising:
- a chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
- seal means adjacent each of said inlet and outlet, said seal means being adapted to permit passage of a web into and out of the chamber;
- a second seal means in said chamber dividing the chamber into a preparation zone and a treatment zone, the improvement comprising:
- means associated with said preparation zone for evacuating air from the open area between the fibers in the web;
- means in said treatment zone for containing pressurized liquid;
- pressure control means to maintain pressure in the treatment zone greater than atmospheric pressure;
- means in said treatment zone forming a nip;
- and means for submerging said nip in said pressurized liquid in said treatment zone to compress said web to squeeze liquid and residual air from the open area between the fibers in the web adjacent the entrance into the nip, thereby causing liquid to be drawn into the open areas between the fibers in the web upon exiting said nip.
A method of saturating a fibrous web with coating material comprising the steps of:
- squeezing a web between a pair of rollers adjacent an entrance into a vacuum chamber;
- subjecting the web which has been squeezed between the pair of rollers to a partial vacuum in the vacuum chamber to draw air from the open area between the fibers in the web;
- squeezing the web between a second pair of rollers to form a seal to maintain the partial vacuum in the vacuum chamber;
- moving the web from the vacuum chamber through a reservoir of pressurized liquid to cause liquid to be drawn into the open area between the fibers in the web;
- and moving the web between a third pair of rollers submerged in the pressurized liquid to squeeze liquid and residual air from the open area between the fibers in the web to condition the web to become saturated with liquid in which the third pair of rollers is submerged.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.