Shoe press belt having a grooved surface

• US 20050126733A1
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Albany International Corporation
• Original Assignee: Albany International Corporation
• Inventors: Aberg, Bo-Christer, Moriarty, Michael G., Fitzpatrick, Keith
• Granted Patent: US 7,387,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 162/358.100
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 3/0227 Belts or sleeves therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 162/901 Impermeable belts for extended nip press
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2457 Parallel ribs and/or grooves

Abstract

A belt for use in a long nip press having an arcuate pressure shoe. The belt has at least one layer having a polymer resin coating on at least one surface thereof. The resin coating has a plurality of grooves arranged therein and wherein a number of the grooves has a length less than a length of the arcuate pressure shoe to reduce ingoing nip spray.

Claims

1. A belt for use in a shoe press comprising:

a base fabric;

a resin coating layer formed on said base fabric and substantially co-extensive therewith; and

a plurality of discontinuous grooves formed in said resin coating layer.

2. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are formed substantially in the machine direction.

3. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are formed substantially in the cross-machine direction.

4. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are formed at an angle relative to the machine direction.

5. The belt according to claim 2, wherein the machine direction length of said grooves is less than the machine direction length of a shoe portion of said long nip press.

6. The belt according to claim 3, wherein the cross-machine direction length of said groove is less than the cross-machine direction length of a shoe portion of said long nip press.

7. The belt according to claim 6, wherein the machine direction length of said groove is less than the machine direction length of a shoe portion of said long nip press.

8. The belt according to claim 1, wherein said grooves include a first portion which has a width which is greater than a second portion of said groove.

9. The belt according to claim 1, wherein said grooves include a first portion which has a depth that is greater than a second portion of said groove.

10. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are off-set from one another in the machine direction by a uniform distance.

11. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are off-set from one another in the machine direction by a non-uniform distance.

12. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are staggered from one another in a repeating pattern.

13. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are staggered from one another in a non-repeating pattern.

14. A belt for use in a shoe press comprising:

a base fabric;

a resin coating layer formed on said base fabric and substantially co-extensive therewith; and

a plurality of grooves formed in said resin coating layer, wherein said grooves are formed of a composite of two or more groove features selected from the group consisting of groove shape, width, depth, continuity, and angular orientation, wherein the composite of two or more groove features reduces nip spray.

15. The belt according to claim 14, wherein said grooves are continuous and include a first portion which is straight and a second portion which is sinusoidal, both of which extend substantially in the machine direction.

16. The belt according to claim 14, wherein said grooves are continuous and include a first portion having a width which is greater than a width of a second portion.

17. The belt according to claim 14, wherein said grooves are continuous and include a first portion having a depth which is greater than a depth of a second portion.

18. A method of minimizing the nip spray in a shoe press belt comprising the steps of:

providing a base section for a press belt;

depositing a polymeric resin on the base section; and

forming a plurality of grooves in said polymeric resin, wherein said grooves are formed of a composite of two or more groove features selected from the group consisting of groove shape, width, depth, continuity, and angular orientation, and wherein the composite of two or more groove features reduces nip spray.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said grooves are formed continuous and include a first portion which is straight and a second portion which is sinusoidal, both of which extend substantially in the machine direction.

20. The method to claim 18, wherein said grooves formed continuous and include a first portion having a width which is greater than a width of a second portion.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein said grooves are formed continuous and include a first portion having a depth which is greater than a depth of a second portion.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the grooves are formed discontinuous and are separated by a land formed in the polymeric resin.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed substantially in the machine direction.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed substantially in the cross-machine direction.

25. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed at an angle relative to the machine direction.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein the machine direction length of said grooves is less than the machine direction length of a shoe portion of said long nip press.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the cross-machine direction length of said groove is less than the cross-machine direction length of a shoe portion of said long nip press.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the machine direction length of said groove is less than the machine direction length of a shoe portion of said long nip press.

29. The method according to claim 22, wherein said grooves include a first portion which has a width which is greater than a second portion of said groove.

30. The method according to claim 22, wherein said grooves include a first portion which has a depth that is greater than a second portion of said groove.

31. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed parallel to one another and are off-set from one another in the machine direction by a uniform distance.

32. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed parallel to one another and are off-set from one another in the machine direction by a non-uniform distance.

33. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed parallel to one another and are staggered from one another in a repeating pattern.

34. The method according to claim 22, wherein the grooves are formed parallel to one another and are staggered from one another in a non-repeating pattern.

35. A belt for use in a shoe press comprising:

a base fabric;

a resin coating layer formed on said base fabric and substantially co-extensive therewith; and

a plurality of continuous cross-machine direction grooves formed in said resin coating layer.

36. The belt according to claim 35, wherein said grooves include a first portion which has a width which is greater than a second portion of said groove.

37. The belt according to claim 35, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are off-set from one another in the machine direction by a uniform distance.

38. The belt according to claim 35, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are off-set from one another in the machine direction by a non-uniform distance.

39. The belt according to claim 35, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are staggered from one another in a repeating pattern.

40. The belt according to claim 35, wherein the grooves are parallel to one another and are staggered from one another in a non-repeating pattern.

41. The belt according to claim 35, which also includes a plurality of discontinuous machine direction grooves formed in the base fabric resin coating layer.