Apparatus and process for producing sheets of material
AssigneeImperial Chemical Industries PLC
InventorsStuart C. Ord, Timothy J. Noakes
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and method for projecting liquid in the form of a sheet for deposition on a target comprises a nozzle having a slot 10 of width not less than 250 microns to which the liquid is supplied. High voltage is applied to the liquid and the liquid is supplied to the slot at a flow rate such that the liquid is formed as, and is maintained in the form of, a sheet by preponderantly electrostatic forces thereby effecting deposition of the sheet on to the target.
Claims10
Apparatus for producing a sheet of material, comprising:
- a nozzle having a path for feeding a liquid via a liquid contacting, conducting or semiconducting, surface to an edge, said path including a passage terminating at a slot at the edge or spaced therefrom by a delivery surface and the slot having a width of at least 250 microns;
- means for charging the conducting or semiconducting surface to a high voltage;
- and
- means for supplying liquid to the slot at a flow rate such that the liquid is formed as, and is maintained in the form of, a sheet by preponderantly electrostatic forces and is projected as a sheet from the nozzle.
A process for producing a sheet of material, comprising feeding a liquid to an edge and producing at the edge an intense electric field, the flow rate of the liquid being sufficiently high and the electric field being sufficiently intense that liquid is drawn by the electrostatic field into a cusp-like section which, under the acceleration forces exerted by the electrostatic field, thins into a sheet which is projected as such from the edge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.