Claims
- 1. An element for removing a film of excess liquid from the surface of a coating applicator and then diverting said film of excess liquid away from said surface, comprising:
an element support member; a blade member structurally associated with said element support member, said blade member having an active end extending from said element support member for engaging said surface of said coating applicator, said blade member being arranged at a predetermined angle θt with said surface of said coating applicator and having a point of contact therewith; and a liquid deflector member structurally associated with said element support member and said blade member, said liquid deflector member having an active face arranged proximate to said active end of said blade member and to said surface of said coating applicator.
- 2. The element recited in claim 1 wherein said liquid deflector member extends downwardly away from said blade member such that excess liquid removed by said blade member from said surface of said coating applicator flows along a path defined by said blade member and said liquid deflector member.
- 3. The element recited in claim 1 wherein said active face of said liquid deflector member is inclined at a predetermined angle 0O relative to said active end of said blade member.
- 4. The element recited in claim 3 wherein said active face of said liquid deflector member is generally contoured away from said surface of said coating applicator.
- 5. The element recited in claim 3 wherein said active face of said liquid deflector member is generally contoured towards said surface of said coating applicator.
- 6. The element recited in claim 3 wherein said active face of said liquid deflector member is generally planar.
- 7. The element recited in claim 3 wherein said predetermined angle θs is equal to or greater than said predetermined angle θt.
- 8. The element recited in claim 1 wherein said blade member has an underside that extends from said point of contact to said active face of said liquid deflector member, said underside defining a predetermined clearance.
- 9. The element recited in claim 8 wherein said predetermined clearance for a predetermined inclination θh, is predicted by the relationship:
- 10. The element recited in claim 8 wherein said predetermined clearance is in the range between about 0.64 cm (0.25 in) and 1.9 cm (0.75 in).
- 11. The element recited in claim 8 wherein a generally arcuate path is formed between said underside of said blade member and said active face of said liquid deflector member.
- 12. The element recited in claim 8 wherein a generally obtuse angular path is formed between said underside of said blade member and said active face of said liquid deflector member.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is related to U.S. Application Ser. No. (Docket 80303), filed______, by Ramasubramaniam Hanumanthu, et al., and entitled, “Apparatus For Coating A Web.”