Claims
- 1. A coating apparatus suited for applying a photographic emulsion coating onto a backing sheet comprising,a framework having a table thereon for supporting a piece of flexible sheet material to be coated, a carriage mounted on the framework for rectilinear movement from a starting position along a path that is parallel to the surface of the sheet when the sheet is supported on the table, a coating applicator mounted upon the carriage for spreading the coating onto the backing sheet when the carriage is advanced across the framework along the rectilinear path parallel to the table, a coating dryer supported on the carriage to apply heat to the coating for drying freshly applied coating, a drive motor connected to the carriage for advancing the carriage across the table supporting the sheet that is being coated, the carriage being moveable in a reverse direction to the starting position whereby the coating can be applied by the applicator when the carriage moves in a first direction and the carriage is then able to move in the reverse direction to the starting position.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 including a movable protective paper strip on the table beneath the sheet being coated for removing drippings or spilled emulsion coating from a work area following a coating operation.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 including an upwardly opening pan adapted to contain a cleansing solution for washing the coating applicator.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the applicator comprises a coating rod having end portions mounted in slots at each end of the carriage, and said slots are normal to the surface of the table supporting the sheet material to enable the rod to be raised vertically to a position in spaced relationship above the sheet material that is being coated.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the apparatus includes a pair of unloading ramps aligned with the ends of the coating rod, said ramps each including an upwardly inclined ramp surface for engaging and raising the coating rod to said position.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the unloading ramps each have recesses in the upper surface thereof for supporting and retaining the coating rod after the rod has been removed from the carriage by the unloading ramps.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the dryer includes a heater and an air blower for directing a jet of heated air onto the freshly applied coating and for progressively applying heat to successive portions of the coated sheet.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1 including a switch operatively connected to the motor for reversing the motor when the sheet has been coated and for thereby reversing the direction of the carriage to return the carriage to the starting position while the coating dryer dries the applied coating.
- 9. A coating apparatus suited for applying a photographic emulsion coating on a backing sheet comprising,a framework having a table thereon for supporting a piece of flexible sheet material to be coated, a carriage mounted on the framework for rectilinear movement from a starting position along a path that is parallel to the surface of the sheet when the sheet is supported on the table, a coating applicator disconnectably mounted upon the carriage for spreading the coating onto the sheet material when the carriage is advanced in a first direction across the framework along the rectilinear path parallel to the table, a coating dryer supported on the apparatus to apply heat to the coating for drying applied coating material, a drive unit connected to the carriage for advancing the carriage across the table supporting the sheet that is being coated, the carriage being moveable in a reverse direction to the starting position whereby the coating can be applied by the applicator when the carriage moves in the first direction and the carriage is then able to be moved in said reverse direction to the starting position.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 including a protective strip of material on the table beneath the sheet being coated for catching and removing drippings or spilled coating material from a work area following a coating operation.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 9 including an upwardly opening pan adapted to contain a cleansing solution for washing the coating applicator.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the applicator comprises a coating rod having end portions mounted for movement away from the table at each end of the carriage to enable the rod to move into spaced relationship above the sheet material that is being coated and an unloading member for engaging and disconnecting the rod from the carriage.
- 13. An apparatus for applying and drying an emulsion coating on the surface of a flexible sheet of material, said apparatus comprising,a supporting framework having a worktable for supporting a sheet of said sheet of material to be coated, a carriage moveably mounted on the framework, said carriage having an applicator thereon for spreading the coating onto the surface of the sheet of material supported on the framework and a heater on the carriage proximate to the applicator for progressively heating successive portions of the coating after the coating has been applied to thereby dry the coating.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the carriage is reversible such that the carriage moves in a first direction for applying the coating and in a reverse direction for enabling the heater to apply heat to the coating as the carriage moves in said reverse direction to a starting point.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the applicator comprises a spreader rod, the spreader rod is disconnectably supported upon the carriage and said apparatus includes means for removing spreader rod from the carriage after the coating has been applied such that the carriage is able to return to a starting point without the spreader bar supported thereon.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the heater comprises a heating element and a blower is associated therewith for blowing air over the heating element onto the applied coating to dry the coating.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the heater is contained within a plenum and a jet nozzle is provided in spaced relation to the work table through which a jet of air from the plenum is directed onto successive portions of the applied coating as the carriage is moved thereacross.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein a strip of protective sheet material is supported on the framework beneath the sheet of material that is to be coated and an arbor is provided for winding up the strip of protective sheet material to remove any of the coating that may have spilled onto the worktable.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/200,406 filed Apr. 28, 2000.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Coating Machine By Dupont Company In Wilmington, DE. |
Coating Machine By AP2 Company, Chicago, IL. |
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/200406 |
Apr 2000 |
US |