Coating process and apparatus
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsWilliam Blake Kolb, Gary L. Huelsman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A web coating process and apparatus employing a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and web-handling equipment for conveying the web past the coating applicator and through the dryer. The web is enclosed from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count or change materially a physical property of interest in a close-coupled enclosure.
Claims49
A process for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and from the coating applicator to and through a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure.
A process for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising conveying the substrate in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures from a pre-coating station to a coating applicator, and past the coating applicator to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure.
A process for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising conveying the substrate in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures from a pre-coating station past a coating applicator and to and through a dryer or curing station while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure.
A process for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising conveying the substrate in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures from a cabinet containing an unwind reel, past a coating applicator, to a dryer or curing station and to a cabinet containing a takeup reel while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure.
A process for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, coating the substrate and protecting it from particulate contamination until the coating can solidify.
A process for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, coating the substrate and not exposing it to ambient air from at least the time the coating is applied until the coating solidifies.
A process for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, and further comprising connecting first and second enclosures having a material difference in their respective operating pressures via a close-coupled enclosure comprising a transition zone.
A process for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, and further comprising connecting first and second enclosures having a material difference in their respective operating pressures via a close-coupled enclosure comprising a transition zone, wherein the first enclosure comprises a close-coupled enclosure, the second enclosure comprises an oven and there is a ten-fold or greater pressure difference between atmospheres in the first and second enclosures.
A process for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein the total of the average headspace and average footspace in a close-coupled enclosure is 10 cm or less.
A process for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising conveying the substrate past a coating applicator and to a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of interconnected close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein a first chamber having a gas introduction device is positioned near a control surface, a second chamber having a gas withdrawal device is positioned near the control surface, the control surface and first and second chambers together define a region wherein adjacent gas phases possess an amount of mass, at least a portion of the mass from the adjacent gas phases is transported through the gas withdrawal device by inducing a flow through the region, and the mass flow can be segmented into the following components:
- M1 means total net time-average mass flow per unit of substrate width into or out of the region resulting from pressure gradients,
- M1′ means the total net time-average mass flow of a gas per unit width into the region through the first chamber from the gas introduction device,
- M2 means the time-average mass flow of conditioned gas per unit width from or into the at least one major surface of the substrate or coating into or from the region,
- M3 means total net time-average mass flow per unit width into the region resulting from motion of the material, and
- M4 means time-average rate of mass transport trough the gas withdrawal device per unit width,
- wherein M1 has a value less than zero and greater than −0.25 kg/second/meter.
An apparatus for coating a moving web substrate passing from an unwind reel to a takeup reel comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying the substrate past the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure.
An apparatus for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying the substrate vast the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein the substrate is enveloped in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures from a cabinet containing the unwind reel to a cabinet containing the takeup reel.
An apparatus for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying the substrate past the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, the apparatus comprising first and second enclosures having a material difference in their respective operating pressures connected by a close-coupled enclosure comprising a transition zone between the first and second enclosures, wherein the first enclosure comprises a close-coupled enclosure, the second enclosure comprises an oven and there is a ten-fold or greater pressure difference between atmospheres in the first and second enclosures.
An apparatus for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying the substrate past the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein the total of the average headspace and average footspace in a close-coupled enclosure is 10 cm or less.
An apparatus for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying to substrate past the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein a first chamber having a gas introduction device is positioned near a control surface, a second chamber having a gas withdrawal device is positioned near the control surface, the control surface and first and second chambers together define a region wherein adjacent gas phases possess an amount of mass, at least a portion of the mass from the adjacent gas phases can be transported through the gas withdrawal device by inducing a flow through the region, and the mass flow can be segmented into the following components:
- M1 means total net time-avenge mass flow per unit of substrate width into or out of the region resulting from pressure gradients,
- M1′ means the total net time-average mass flow of a gas per unit width into the region through the first chamber from the gas introduction device,
- M2 means the time-average mass flow of conditioned gas per unit width from or into the at least one major surface of the substrate or coating into or from the region,
- M3 means total net time-average mass flow per unit width into the region resulting from motion of the material, and
- M4 means time-average rate of mass transport through the gas withdrawal device per unit width.
An apparatus for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying the substrate past the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein a stream of conditioned gas flows at a rate sufficient to reduce a close-coupled enclosure particle count by 75% or more.
An apparatus for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising a coating applicator, dryer or curing station and substrate-handling equipment for conveying the substrate past the coating applicator and through the dryer or curing station, the substrate being enveloped from at least the coating applicator to the dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, wherein an enclosure or series of enclosures is supplied with one or more streams of conditioned gas distributed at a substantially uniform rate across the substrate width.
An process for coating a moving substrate of indefinite length comprising conveying substrate past a coating applicator and from the coating applicator to and through a dryer or curing station in a close-coupled enclosure or series of close-coupled enclosures while supplying the enclosure or series of enclosures with one or more streams of conditioned gas flowing at a rate sufficient to reduce materially the particle count in a close-coupled enclosure, comprising flowing streams of conditioned gas at rates sufficient to reduce the close-coupled enclosure particle counts by 90% or more and wherein the total of the avenge headspace and average footspace in any close-coupled enclosure is 10 cm or less.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.