Web cleaner apparatus and method
AssigneeJames River Paper Company, Inc.
InventorRodney E. Pollock
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for cleaning a moving web of sheet material. The apparatus includes a Coanda nozzle having an elongated, curved foil and a slit for directing gas at a high rate of speed along the foil. The gas from the foil impacts a layer of air entrained by the web of sheet material flowing in an opposed direction. Impact occurs within a gap formed between the foil and the web which becomes increasingly restricted in the direction of movement of the web. The entrained layer of air is caused to reverse direction within the gap and is mixed with the gas from the nozzle under turbulent conditions to clean the web and remove particulate material such as dust therefrom.
Claims4
Apparatus for use in combination with a web of sheet material moving in a predetermined direction along a predetermined path of movement, said web of sheet material having spaced edges and a substantially planar surface bordering a layer of air entrained by said web of sheet material and moving in said predetermined direction, said apparatus for cleaning said substantially planar surface and comprising, in combination:
- a Coanda nozzle including an elongated, curved foil and slit defining means defining an elongated, narrow slit with said elongated, curved foil, said elongated, narrow slit for receiving a compressed gas and directing said gas at a high rate of speed along said elongated, curved foil from an upstream location on said elongated, curved foil and past an intermediate location on said elongated, curved foil to a downstream location at an end of said elongated, curved foil, said Coanda nozzle for positioning closely adjacent to the substantially planar surface of a moving web of sheet material with the downstream location on said elongated, curved foil being further from the substantially planar surface than is the elongated, curved foil intermediate location whereby said elongated, curved foil forms a gap with said moving web substantially planar surface which becomes increasingly restricted in the predetermined direction and within which a layer of air entrained by said moving web of sheet material is impacted by gas flowing at a high rate of speed along said curved foil in a direction generally opposed to said predetermined direction, mixed with said gas under turbulent conditions, and caused to substantially reverse direction away from said curved foil;
- and
- an air discharge chute and means for applying a vacuum to said air discharge chute to direct the mixture of gas and entrained air layer to a location away from said Coanda nozzle, said discharge chute including a curved discharge plate adjacent to said elongated, curved foil and curving away from said Coanda nozzle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.