1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coating device, and more particularly to an on-machine coater that constitutes a coating device in which the coater and the paper machine are integrated.
2. Description of the Related Art
The production of coated paper such as the printing paper used for catalogues and the like along with pressure-sensitive paper and heat-sensitive paper is based on the coating of application medium, for example paint, using a coater on a web (base material) which serves as the base paper, and the drying therof. Machines that coat application medium, for example paint, in this way are generically referred to as coaters. Commonly employed coaters include blade coaters, rod coaters and air-knife coaters that utilize a post-metering method in which, following the excess coating of application medium, for example paint, on the web, the application medium, for example paint, is either scraped off using a blade or small-diameter rod or blown off using an air-knife and measured (metered).
On the other hand, paper machines, which constitute the machines used to manufacture printing paper and coated base paper or the like, include a head box used to uptake a slurry which constitutes a suspension of pulp or the like and apply it out through a tip-end nozzle, a wire part used to dewater the slurry from the head box to form a paper layer (web), a press part used to pick up and dewater the web from the wire part, and a large number of cylinders that are heated by steam, as well as a dryer part in which the web from the press part is pushed against these cylinders to afford the drying thereof, a large number of vertically-stacked cast iron rollers, a calender for smoothing the web from the dryer part, and a reel around which the web from the calender is wound.
The formation of the paper produced by a paper machine into a coated paper normally involves the use of an on-machine coater. That is to say, the paper roll wound around the reel of the paper machine is mounted on an unwinder of the on-machine coater, and the web pulled from the unwinder is coated by way of a coater. The web coated by the coater is dried by both a non-contact dryer and a cylinder dryer and wound around a reel. Gloss is imparted to the web wound around the reel by way of a supercalender.
Although paper manufacture and coating are normally performed using separate machines, devices in which the paper machine and coater are integrated and from which the reel of the paper machine and the unwinder of the coater are omitted, which are generically referred to as on-machine coaters, are sometimes employed.
An additional description with reference to
The symbol 5 denotes an infrared dryer that constitutes one type of non-contact dryer. The two surfaces of the web A are dried by a pair of infrared dryers 5 opposingly provided in the downstream side of the air turn 4 about the upward-moving web A. The infrared dryers, who afford the non-contact drying of the web, are of either an electrical or a gas type. The advantage of the gas type over the electrical type lies in its much cheaper running costs. The gas infrared dryer combusts a fuel gas that heats a ceramic emitter to a temperature of 110° C. or above which then emits infrared rays on to the web A.
The symbol 6 denotes a blade coater which constitutes one type of a post-metering style of coater for coating the lower surface of the web A. The coated amount is 5 to 15 g/m2 per surface, and the speed is 1000 to 2000 m/min. The blade coater 6, which includes a backing roll 6a and coater head 6c, sprays an excess amount of application medium, for example paint, upward on to the web A wound around the lower surface of the back up roller 6a, and this is then scraped off and measured (metered) using a steel blade. The scraped-off application medium, for example paint, is re-circulated. The symbol 5a denotes an infrared dryer used to dry the surface coated by the blade coater.
The symbol 7 denotes an air dryer which constitutes one type of non-contact dryer. The web A is non-contactingly conveyed and dried by way of an air jet. The symbols 8 and 10 denote dryer cylinders, the cylinders of larger diameter being heated by a blown-in steam. The symbols 8a and 10a denote canvases that are used to push the web A against the cylinders.
As is described above, in a conventional on-machine coater as shown in
What is needed in the art is to facilitate improved web carry and, in addition, to avoid the replication of equipment (non-contact dryer).
The present invention provides an on-machine coater including: a size press, arranged in such a way that a straight line connecting the center line of a pair of rollers provided about a continuously diagonally downward-moving web is essentially orthogonal to the web, the size press being used to coat the two surfaces of a web; an air turn, arranged diagonally downward on the downstream side of said size press, the air turn being used to change the direction of movement of the web without contacting the web by way of an air film that is formed between itself and the moving web; a post-metering style of coater, arranged in the downstream side of said air turn, the coater being used to coat the lower surface of the web; and non-contact dryers, arranged above said coater, the dryers being used to dry the web following coating. The coating performed using the abovementioned size press constitutes an alternative to the coating performed using the abovementioned post-metering style of coater. When the coating is performed using the abovementioned size press, the two surfaces of the web are dried by a pair of the abovementioned non-contact dryers opposingly provided on the downstream side of the abovementioned air turn about the diagonally upward-moving web. When the coating is performed using the abovementioned post-metering style of coater, the dryer of the abovementioned pair of non-contact dryers used to dry the lower surface side of the web is moved in such a way as to oppose the lower surface side of the web which, beyond the abovementioned coater, moves upward.
The abovementioned non-contact dryer used to dry the lower surface side of the web can be supported by a pair of arms that turn about a fulcrum provided thereabove, the abovementioned movement being a result of the turning of the arms.
A post-metering style of coater is arranged in the downstream side of an air turn arranged diagonally below on the downstream side of a size press. When the coating is performed using the abovementioned size press, the two surfaces of the web are dried by a pair of the abovementioned non-contact dryers opposingly provided on the downstream side of the abovementioned air turn about the diagonally upward-moving web. When the coating is performed using the abovementioned post-metering style of coater, the dryer of the abovementioned pair of non-contact dryers used to dry the lower surface side of the web is moved in such a way as to oppose the lower surface side of the web which, beyond the abovementioned coater, moves upward. The use of part of the non-contact dryers can be combined to afford an economization of each of the equipment costs, maintenance costs and the space for the provision thereof and the like. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that there is no significant difference between the length of the path of the web when the coating is performed using the abovementioned size press compared to when the coating is performed using the abovementioned post-metering style of coater, where two are used, the need to replace a carrier rope is eliminated and they need only be re-mounted. The re-mounting of a carrier rope need only involve the use of hoist equipment to establish, by way of example, the backing roll of the post-metering style of coater in a slightly floated state.
As is described above, the use of part of the non-contact dryers can be combined to afford an economization of each of the equipment costs, maintenance costs and the space for the provision thereof and the like, and the re-mounting of the carrier rope used for carrying the web is simple.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
The infrared dryer 11 is configured from an infrared dryer 11a used to dry the upper surface of the web A and an infrared dryer 11b used to dry the lower surface of the web A. The infrared dryer 11a is fixed while the infrared dryer 11b is of a movable type. The symbol 12 denotes a pair of arms provided on the operation side and the drive side of the machine that support the infrared dryer 11b and which turn about a fulcrum 12a provided thereabove to move the infrared dryer 11b. The symbol 12b, which denotes a turning device for turning the arm 12, uses an electromotive jack. A paper roller 13 is provided in the tip-end of the arms 12.
A description of the re-mounting of the carrier rope will be given hereinafter with reference to
In
A description of the action of this embodiment is given hereinafter. The blade coater 6 is arranged in the downstream side of the air turn 4 arranged diagonally downward on the downstream side of the size press 3. When the coating is performed using the size press 3, the two surfaces of the web A are dried by a pair of the non-contact dryers 11 opposingly provided on the downstream side of the air turn 4 about the diagonally upward-moving web A. When the coating is performed using the abovementioned post-metering style of coater 6, the dryer 11b of the abovementioned pair of non-contact dryers 11 used to dry the lower surface side of the web is moved in such a way as to oppose the lower surface side of the web A which, beyond the abovementioned blade coater 6, moves upward. The use of part of the non-contact dryers 11 can be combined to afford an economization of each of the equipment costs, maintenance costs and the space for the provision thereof and the like. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that there is no significant difference between the length of the path of the web when the coating is performed using the size press 3 compared to when the coating is performed using the blade coater 6, where two are used the need to replace a carrier rope is eliminated and it need only to be re-mounted. The re-mounting of the carrier rope need only involve the use of hoist equipment to establish, by way of example, the backing roll 6a of the blade coater 6 in a slightly floated state.
As is described above, the use of part of the non-contact dryers can be combined to afford an economization of each of the equipment costs, maintenance costs and the space for the provision thereof and the like, and the re-mounting of the carrier rope used for carrying the web is simple.
The present invention is not restricted to the embodiments described above, and it should be understood that various changes may be made thereto within a range that does not depart from the gist of the invention. By way of example, although the non-contact dryers described in the specification are infrared dryers, air dryers may be used. In addition, although the post-metering style of coater described in the specification is a blade coater, an air-knife coater may be used.
While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
Explanation of Symbols
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2006-107551 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5753078 | Koutitonsky et al. | May 1998 | A |
6284097 | Wulz et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
6599395 | Wulz et al. | Jul 2003 | B2 |
20070026156 | Mandai et al. | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20090324980 | Matsushima | Dec 2009 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2006-138045 | Jun 2006 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20070235152 A1 | Oct 2007 | US |