Continuous feed coater
First Claim
1. An apparatus for coating two substrates in the form of two rolled webs of material, said apparatus comprising:
- two supply means for supplying and supporting respective uncoated portions of the web substrates;
two web-handling portions for guiding the respective web substrates through a coating area, the web substrates being proximal to one another in said coating area to form a deposition plenum;
two take-up means for supporting respective coated portions of the web substrates and for driving the respective web substrates from the supply rollers through the coating area and onto their respective take-up means; and
a coating material source for providing coating material to the deposition plenum;
wherein, the webs are oriented vertically within said deposition plenum, said coating material source is located at the bottom of the deposition plenum, and said apparatus includes a exhaust system at the top of the deposition plenum, such that the coating material flows between the two webs from the bottom of the deposition plenum to the top of the deposition plenum; and
wherein said two web-handling portions each include a plurality of arch bars, each of said arch bars supporting the respective webs along a horizontal line, thereby forming bends in the respective webs, wherein the coating material is redirected as it flows past the bends forming turbulence regions within the deposition plenum.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A continuous feed coater for coating a length of substrate with vaporized or sprayed material, is disclosed. A specific example is a roll-to-roll coater which includes two lower supply rollers for supporting two webs of uncoated material, and two upper take-up rollers for supporting the webs after they are coated. A central web-support forms a plenum that acts as a deposition chimney or chamber by bringing the two webs into close proximity to each other to form two large walls of the plenum. The ends of the webs are sealed using side dams to form the chimney with a rectangular cross section such that the vapor cannot exit from the edges of the material. The vaporized coating constituents to be deposited on the rolled material are directed into the deposition plenum from a coating material supply source located at the bottom of the plenum, and are exhausted through the top of the plenum. By providing a plenum having two large surface area walls formed of the material to be coated, an extremely efficient coating system is provided. The top of the plenum includes an exhaust system with an orifice plate with a plurality of orifices spaced across the width of the deposition plenum. These orifices restrict gas exhaust to provide the gas and vapor residence time for the materials being used.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. An apparatus for coating two substrates in the form of two rolled webs of material, said apparatus comprising:
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two supply means for supplying and supporting respective uncoated portions of the web substrates;
two web-handling portions for guiding the respective web substrates through a coating area, the web substrates being proximal to one another in said coating area to form a deposition plenum;
two take-up means for supporting respective coated portions of the web substrates and for driving the respective web substrates from the supply rollers through the coating area and onto their respective take-up means; and
a coating material source for providing coating material to the deposition plenum;
wherein, the webs are oriented vertically within said deposition plenum, said coating material source is located at the bottom of the deposition plenum, and said apparatus includes a exhaust system at the top of the deposition plenum, such that the coating material flows between the two webs from the bottom of the deposition plenum to the top of the deposition plenum; and
wherein said two web-handling portions each include a plurality of arch bars, each of said arch bars supporting the respective webs along a horizontal line, thereby forming bends in the respective webs, wherein the coating material is redirected as it flows past the bends forming turbulence regions within the deposition plenum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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9. An apparatus for coating two substrates in the form of two rolled webs of material, said apparatus comprising:
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two supply means for supplying and supporting respective uncoated portions of the web substrates;
two web-handling portions for guiding the respective web substrates through a coating area, the web substrates being proximal to one another in said coating area to form a deposition plenum;
two take-up means for supporting respective coated portions of the web substrates and for driving the respective web substrates from the supply rollers through the coating area and onto their respective take-up means; and
a coating material source for providing coating material to the deposition plenum;
a frame, said frame including a first and a second side plate attached to each other by a number of cross bars; and
four legs, two of said legs supporting said first side plate and the other two of said legs supporting said second side plate;
whereinsaid two supply means, said two web-handling portions, and said two take-up means are attached to and supported by said first and second side plates. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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23. An apparatus for coating two substrates in the form of two rolled webs of material, said apparatus comprising:
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two supply means for supplying and supporting respective uncoated portions of the web substrates;
two web-handling portions for guiding the respective web substrates through a coating area, the web substrates being proximal to one another in said coating area to form a deposition plenum;
two take-up means for supporting respective coated portions of the web substrates and for driving the respective web substrates from the supply rollers through the coating area and onto their respective take-up means; and
a coating material source for providing coating material to the deposition plenum;
wherein the deposition plenum further comprises first and second side air dams for keeping the coating material between the two webs, the first and second side air dams and the two webs thereby forming four innermost walls of the deposition plenum.
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41. An apparatus for coating a substrate in the form of a rolled web of material, said apparatus comprising:
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a supply means for supplying and supporting uncoated portions of the web substrate;
a web-handling portion for guiding the web substrate through a coating area, the web substrate being adjacent a surface in said coating area to form a deposition plenum;
a take-up means for supporting coated portions of the web substrate and for driving the web substrate from the supply roller through the coating area and onto said driven take-up roller; and
a coating material source for providing coating material to the deposition plenum;
wherein said supply means is below said take-up means, such that the web is substantially vertical while in said deposition plenum; and
wherein the web substrate converges toward said surface incrementally from a bottom of said deposition plenum to a central region of said deposition plenum, and diverges incrementally from said central region of said deposition plenum to a top of said deposition plenum thereby forming a central venturi region within said deposition plenum.
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Specification