Patent Application
20180071768
This application is related to, and claims the benefit of Canadian Patent Application No. 2,942,317, filed Sep. 15, 2016. The above-identified priority patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present technology relates to an apparatus for applying a wax layer onto and/or impregnate a length of cellulosic sheet or a length of a fabric. More specifically, it is an apparatus that includes a heated bath for immersing the material in, a cooling tower for evenly cooling the waxed material, a pair of alignment rollers, a collection roller and a driver roller.
Many food wraps, such as waxed paper, do not adhere to themselves, hence during the manufacturing process, there is no concern that layers will stick together when rolled onto a roll.
The food wraps are also a very consistent thickness. The wraps are also very thin, with the paper in waxed paper in the range of 25 μm thick and the coating a minimal thickness.
In contrast, Abeego® sheets readily adhere to themselves, in fact, this feature is important to their functionality. The Abeego sheets may be as thick as 1 mm. The preferred fabric weight is about 3.5 ounces to about 5.4 ounces. After waxing, the wax may be about 35% to about 60% of the weight of the sheet. These waxed sheets therefore present a number of manufacturing challenges including how to apply the correct amount of wax, how to control cooling of the wax, and how to roll the waxed sheets into a roll without having the layers adhere to one another. It is an object of the present technology to overcome these challenges.
The present technology provides an apparatus for coating, and impregnating, infiltrating, or infusing paper or fabric. A roll of a material, whether fabric or paper, is placed on a rod that allows it to be fed into a temperature controlled bath of melted wax. Upon exiting the bath, the waxed material passes through a squeegee system to remove excess wax. The waxed material then enters the cooling tower on a first side where a steady and controlled flow of air is delivered through apertures in a manifold housed therein. The rate of cooling is controlled by controlling the speed at which the waxed material travels through the cooling tower and the temperature of the air, which may be regulated. A top roller returns the waxed material to a second side where again, a steady and controlled flow of air is delivered through the apertures in the manifold. The cooling tower promotes efficient and even cooling. The controlled air flow reduces fluttering of the fabric and promotes an even and consistent thickness of the waxed material. The cooled, waxed material is then aligned by a pair of aligning rollers before being rolled on to the collection roller. The collection roller is rotated by a driver roller that sits on the collection roller. The use of the driver roller to draw the material onto the collection roller maintains constant sheet speed as the roll diameter increases, reduces or eliminates tension in the roll of material and reduces or eliminates adhesion between the layers in the roll.
In one embodiment, an apparatus for producing a roll of waxed fabric is provided, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a temperature controlled bath at an entrance end of the frame; a squeegee system located proximate an exit side of the temperature controlled bath; a cooling tower adjacent the temperature controlled bath, the cooling tower including walls and a manifold to define a cooling zone, the manifold for delivering a flow of air to the cooling zone, a tower roller rotatably mounted above the cooling zone; a blower for delivering air to the manifold; a collection roller rotatably mounted adjacent the alignment roller; a driver roller in rolling engagement with the collection roller; and a motor in mechanical communication with the driver motor for driving the driver motor.
In the apparatus, the manifold may include a plurality of straight channels, and a cavity therebelow, the cavity defining a volume, the cavity in fluid communication with the blower and the straight channels, and the straight channels in fluid communication with the cooling zone.
In the apparatus, the volume defined by the cavity may decrease from the blower to an end opposite the blower.
The apparatus may further comprise a lower roller rotatably mounted in the cooling tower proximate an exit side of the cooling tower.
In the apparatus, the cooling chamber may include a first side wall, a second side wall and a back wall.
In the apparatus, the squeegee system may be a squeegee cylinder mounted on a squeegee frame.
In the apparatus, the cooling tower may further include a temperature sensor located in the cooling chamber, the temperature sensor in electronic communication with a speed controller for the driver motor.
The apparatus may further comprise a damper in a duct between the blower and the manifold.
In the apparatus, the driver roller may be mounted at about 30 degrees above a plane defined by a bottom of the collection roller.
The apparatus may further comprise a delivery rod, the delivery roller mounted to the frame proximate the entrance end of the apparatus.
In another embodiment, a method of providing a roll of a waxed material is provided, the method comprising drawing a material through a waxing apparatus with a driver roller, the driver roller located at an exit end of the waxing apparatus and driving a collection roller, the material passing through: i) wax in a heated bath, ii) a squeegee, iii) a cooling tower, and iv) then being rolled on the collection roller, thereby providing a roll of waxed material.
The method may further comprise sensing a temperature in the cooling tower with a temperature sensor and adjusting the speed of the driver roller as needed.
In the method, the material may be cooled in the cooling tower with a flow of air from a manifold in the cooling tower.
In the method cooling the material may further comprise the material passing through an opening between a first arm of the manifold and a second arm of the manifold, over a tower roller and back through the opening.
In yet another embodiment, an apparatus for waxing a fabric is provided, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a temperature controlled bath at an entrance end of the frame; a squeegee pressed against an exit side of the temperature controlled bath; a cooling tower adjacent the temperature controlled bath, the cooling tower including walls, a tower roller rotatably mounted at a top of the cooling tower, and a manifold, the walls and manifold defining a cooling zone, the manifold including a cavity and a plurality of substantially straight channels, the cavity in fluid communication the channels, and the channels in fluid communication with the cooling zone; a blower, the blower in fluid communication with the cavity; and a lower roller, the lower roller located proximate an exit end of the cooling tower.
In the apparatus a volume defined by the cavity may decrease from the blower to an end opposite the blower.
The apparatus may further comprise a collection roller adjacent the cooling tower and proximate an exit end of the apparatus, and a driver for the collection roller.
In the apparatus, the driver may be a roller in rolling engagement with the collection roller and is mounted at about 30 degrees above a plane defined by a bottom of the collection roller.
In yet another embodiment, a method of preparing a roll of waxed fabric is provided, the method comprising using the apparatus described above.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, the following rules of interpretation apply to this specification (written description, claims and drawings): (a) all words used herein shall be construed to be of such gender or number (singular or plural) as the circumstances require; (b) the singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in the specification and the appended claims include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise; (c) the antecedent term “about” applied to a recited range or value denotes an approximation within the deviation in the range or value known or expected in the art from the measurements method; (d) the words “herein”, “hereby”, “hereof”, “hereto”, “hereinbefore”, and “hereinafter”, and words of similar import, refer to this specification in its entirety and not to any particular paragraph, claim or other subdivision, unless otherwise specified; (e) descriptive headings are for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any part of the specification; and (f) “or” and “any” are not exclusive and “include” and “including” are not limiting. Further, The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted.
To the extent necessary to provide descriptive support, the subject matter and/or text of the appended claims is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. Where a specific range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range, is included therein. All smaller sub ranges are also included. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges are also included therein, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used, the acceptable methods and materials are now described.
Material—in the context of the present technology, a material is a fabric or paper.
Waxed—in the context of the present technology, a waxed material is one that is coated, and impregnated, infiltrated or infused with wax.
Wax—in the context of the present technology, wax may include for example, but not limited to natural (derived from plants or animals) wax, petrochemical based wax, formulations that may include, for example, but not limited to bees wax, jojoba oil and damar tree resin, mixtures of waxes and mixtures that include at least one wax and retain the characteristics of wax.
A waxing apparatus, generally referred to as 10 is shown in
A squeegee system 60 is also adjustably attached to the bath 40 proximate an exit side 62 of the bath 40, proximate the top 64. The squeegee system 60 extends substantially the width of the bath 40, as does the feeder 42. A cooling tower, generally referred to as 80, is mounted beside the bath 40. The cooling tower 80 includes three walls, a first side wall 81, a second side wall 82, and a back wall 83 a tower frame 84, a tower roller 85, a manifold 86 and a lower roller 87. The position of the lower roller 87 and the back wall 83 can be adjusted upward (away from the frame 12), as needed. The lower roller 87 is proximate an exit end 89 of the cooling tower.
The preferred temperature of the cooled fabric 306 is between about 85° F. and about 120° F., preferably about 85° F. and about 110° F. When the fabric is within this temperature range one layer of the roll can slide on another layer without adhering to the other layer, thus it can easily be rolled into a roll. If it's too warm the layers will stick and adhere when cooled. If it is too cool, the layers are tacky and they will not slide well on one another. The manifold 86 and three walls 81, 82, 83 define a cooling zone 88. The walls 81, 82, 83 are preferably transparent and have a low insulation value, for example, but not limited to plexiglass, acrylic or glass.
Adjacent the cooling tower 80 are two alignment rollers 90. These are on a platform 92 that pivots. An adjustment knob 94 and leadscrew 96 rotatably engage a leadscrew mount 98, which is mounted on the frame 12. The leadscrew 96 engages a threaded female member 98 that is attached to the platform 92. Adjacent the alignment rollers 90 is the collection roller 100. The collection roller 100 is rotatably mounted on the frame 12. Abutting the collection roller 100 is the driver roller 110. It is adjustably and rotatably mounted on the frame 12. It is located at the exit end, generally referred to as 120.
As shown in
The squeegee system 60 is shown in
In an alternative embodiment, shown in
The details of the cooling tower 80 are shown in
Returning to
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment the pivoting platform controller may be automated and include a camera or other a position sensor in electronic communication with an automatic lead screw, hydraulic ram, pneumatic ram or the like as would be known to one skilled in the art.
As shown in
The driver roller 110 is in mechanical communication with a drive motor 204 via a synchronous cog belt 207. As noted above, the motor 204 has a speed control 202 so that the speed that the fabric is drawn through the apparatus 10 can be varied as needed.
As shown in
A shown in
While example embodiments have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be an example of a possible most practical and/or suitable embodiment, it is to be understood that the descriptions are not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the example embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific example embodiments specifically described herein. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed in the scope of the claims, if appended hereto or subsequently filed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2942317 | Sep 2016 | CA | national |
