Patent Application
20240344257
This disclosure is related to the field of coating garments, fabrics, filaments, and staple fibers. Particularly to metalizing garments and fabrics through chemical plating.
The world is full of microorganisms. While many of these are beneficial, or even necessary, for human survival, a large number are, in fact, detrimental and downright dangerous to humans. It has long been recognized that a large number of human maladies can be traced to microorganisms and specifically viruses and bacteria. Maladies such as COVID-19, influenza, malaria, staphylococcus (staph), athlete's foot, and even the common cold can be traced to microorganisms or antigens acting on the human body.
Outside of recognized disease, even more common, but undesirable, conditions such as body odor can be traced to microorganisms. While conditions such as body odor are far from life threatening, they are undesirable and can cause stress and anxiety. As humans are social creatures, body odor which is not controlled is typically considered undesirable and can have major social implications. Further, while odor is essential for scent-based animals to identify each other, as humans are generally considered a sight-based species, the failure to control body odor is often seen as an indicator of lower social rank. Because of this, while many may think it is an unnecessary action, reducing body odor is indelibly a part of modern human life.
The reduction of human odor comes from a variety of places. Much human odor comes from sweat, which, while inherently odorless, is broken down by microorganisms (typically bacteria) on human skin which convert certain proteins to acids. These bacteria, and the chemical process performed, do emit odor. For this reason, areas where sweat is most present (for example the armpits) are both washed regularly, but also often treated with substances to inhibit sweating, to conceal odor, or kill the bacteria present. These substances are often placed directly on the skin but for some people that can lead to rashes and irritation. However, because humans are essentially the only animals that wear clothes, sweat can also become trapped in the fabric of our clothes which can emit odor either when they are worn again, or even long after having been removed. This is well known from the scent of dirty socks in a laundry hamper but is also very common in exercise or workout clothes which often are exposed to greatly increased amounts of sweat.
The primary issue encountered with microorganisms is that they are everywhere, and it is often difficult to separate the good from the bad. Part of the reason humans may find body odor noxious or offensive is because we associate it with potential danger. For example, most humans react negatively to the smell of rotting meat. This could very easily have been a defensive evolution so we do not eat it. Because of this, it is often desirable to simply separate humans, or at least certain parts of humans, from microorganisms as much as possible. While complete separation of humans and microorganisms would typically be fatal, separation in certain circumstances is often beneficial.
Separation from any microorganism can be particularly beneficial in situations where the human body is at an increased risk for infection. This can occur, for example, when the skin is broken (either by accident, or purposefully such as in surgery) or where a human has a decreased immune response due to age, immunosuppressant drugs, or other conditions. It can also be beneficial when the organism is external to our body and may be unneeded. This is the case in body odor where, while it is arguably unnecessary and cosmetic, removal can provide increased comfort and decreased stress and anxiety.
In order to assist the body in the destruction of harmful or simply annoying microorganisms, a variety of things are used to eliminate microorganisms not from within our bodies, but from around them. Because many forms of bacteria are dangerous, many of these products are specific antibacterial compounds which typically target specific features of bacteria to kill them off before they ever contact our bodies. We are all familiar with antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers, and the like which are designed to kill bacteria on the hands to inhibit us from transferring them internal to our bodies via touching a body orifice such as by wiping the nose or simply eating. A concern with antibacterials is that while antibacterials can be very effective, they do not kill everything and can have the side-effect of allowing bacteria to evolve which are immune to particular antibacterials. For this reason, they are commonly used sparingly as too much use can result in bacteria evolving which are increasingly dangerous to humans and immune from the antibacterial.
Another classification of disinfectants are antimicrobials. Antimicrobials, and specifically, non-specific antimicrobials, have a major advantage over most antibiotics and other antigen specific compounds in that they often have a much greater lethality which can readily prevent the spread of resistant bacteria. Antimicrobials are effectively all destructive in that they do not specifically target bacteria, but are generally lethal to all or many forms of life in sufficient amounts. However, they are usually supplied in small amounts so that they are highly lethal to smaller organisms, but generally have little effect on megafauna such as humans. Certain antimicrobials, such as chlorine bleach, are so effective that they are readily accepted in widespread use.
The term “antimicrobial,” however, is often also used specifically refer to products which are really antibiotic. For this reason, materials which are antimicrobial are often referred to based on how they are used relative to humans. For example, human surfaces and materials which are for use on human surfaces (e.g. the skin) are often referred to as antiseptic if they are broadly antimicrobial. Meanwhile, materials which are used to eradicate microorganisms on non-human surfaces are often referred to as disinfectants. Regardless of which term is used, the end result is typically the same. These types of materials are designed to destroy multiple types of microorganisms that they come in contact with. In effect, they are dilute poisons provided at a level which is lethal to microorganisms, but insufficient to affect the humans that use them. For this reason, one must often be careful with disinfectants so that the user does not take them internally or become exposed to them in high concentration.
One area where such antimicrobial incorporation is seeing increased use is in fabrics and textiles. This can include such mundane uses as in socks or undergarments in order to destroy odor causing microbes, or in wound dressings where the human immune response is being given an aid in inhibiting dangerous microbes from entering the human body and potentially causing complications from an injury or medical procedure. Fabrics are a particularly valuable place to position antimicrobials as they are typically positioned close to (and typically on) humans, but do not involve the antimicrobial being placed directly on the skin. That means that the risk from absorption of the antimicrobial through the skin or from skin irritation from the antimicrobial can generally be reduced.
When it comes to the inclusion of antimicrobials in fabric, metals (and particularly noble metals such as copper, silver, and gold) can be particularly valuable. The reasons are numerous. For one, such materials can actually provide fabrics with a desirable metallic appearance which can enhance the fabrics use in clothing, which is a primary location where antimicrobial action may be desired. Metalized fabrics can also act as shielding for a variety of different forms of radiation such as infrared signals or microwaves. As such, they can be useful in protective clothing, privacy shields, or in camouflage.
Further, metallic fabrics can also have electrical properties. This can allow for metalized fabrics to be used not just in antimicrobial applications but in other applications where such properties can be useful. For example, metalized fabrics can be used to act as circuitry for electronic devices placed in contact with the fabric. This can allow clothing to incorporate sensors which can communicate via the clothing. In many situations, metallization to provide electrical properties to the fabric is now actually the primary purpose of the metallization and metallization may be performed to provide these benefits without any concern as to antimicrobial effect at all.
As the world becomes increasingly reliant on electrical devices for both work and play, the ability to interface those devices with clothing or other fabric based structures, or to communicate using fabric as an interface between different electrical devices is gaining in immense popularity. Clothing can now be used to transmit power to portable electrical devices carried on the person and those devices can also utilize clothing and other fabric structures to communicate with each other either from using metalized fabrics, or metalized threads in fabrics, as wiring or as antennas.
Beyond the use of metalized fabric in clothing or other traditional fabric structures. Fabrics resiliency and flexibility can also provide a base for flexible wiring structures in places where more rigid structures were once required. Circuit boards can be formed without a board but through metalized threads and yarns, or fabric patches, being formed into more complex structures that provide for circuitry and other electronic functions. As electrical technologies become more sophisticated and smaller, metalized fabrics can be used in more and more applications which require electrical conductors with a high level of flexibility.
While the benefits of metalized fabrics are becoming increasingly recognized and such products are becoming more and more common, there are difficulties related to their manufacture. For one, it is becoming increasingly important that the process and equipment used in metalizing of fabrics provide control of deposition of the metal to allow necessary optimization of desired properties. Further, consistency of deposition of metal onto the fabric is also gaining increased importance. This consistency involves getting similar deposition both within an individual fabric bolt so that the entire generated fabric is useable for a desired application, and between bolts of fabric so that there is no need to test or verify that any end product meets necessary specifications.
It is also important in a metalized fabric that post-manufacture the metallization not be washed away by necessary exposure or laundering of a fabric. For example, fabric or yarn that has been impregnated with metal particles may have the particles held within spaces or interstices of the fabric or yarn. If the fabric or yarn is then used to absorb a liquid to expose the liquid to the metal, the liquid also competes to occupy the same space and interstice and may knock the metal particles loose so that they free float in the liquid. In some applications (such as in wound dressings), this may be perfectly acceptable or even desirable, but for other uses it can result in rapid displacement of the metal in an undesirable fashion.
Because of the desire to make metalized fabrics that are resistant to loss of the metal during laundering, many metallization techniques utilize some form of bonding that connects the metal particle to the fibers of the fabric. Often this is by having the metallic crystals form on the filaments in the fabric. There are a large number of different processes that may be used to do this including various forms of deposition or plating. These types of processes often are designed to result in the metal crystalizing on the fibers in the fabric from a liquid form to which the fabric is exposed through the use of chemicals that make the fabric particularly receptive to crystal formation. Liquids are typically a preferred metal source as a liquid can typically better penetrate the fabric and expose an increased amount of fiber to a solubized form of the metal. When the metal is then crystalized, the solid crystals can form on any of the fiber surfaces in the fabric. For the purposes of commercial metalized fabric manufacture, one of the most important manufacturing processes is chemical plating.
Chemical plating is particularly useful in commercial manufacture of fabrics because it is relatively straightforward and results in a fabric of generally consistent metal application. In these places, the fabric is placed in a large vessel, often by hand. A chemical bath is supplied for the fabric which may include the metal to be applied as well as various catalysts, cleaning compounds, and sensitization agents. Alternatively, multiple baths may be used where some of the agents are applied in a first bath, and other agents and the metal are applied in later baths. Once exposed to the metal (which is commonly in an aqueous form as a salt or similar compound and not as a suspended particulate solid) fabric is then typically agitated within the bath to provide for improved exposure of fibers and surfaces to the metal and remains in the bath for a certain period of time. This agitation is to avoid bends, folds, or wrinkles from existing in the fabric and so as to get fairly uniform contact between all surfaces of the fabric and the bath.
The basic processes of chemical plating have been known for years. However, the processes have a number of limitations. As should be apparent, it is often a labor intensive process as the fabric needs to be unrolled and is commonly wadded up or otherwise placed in the bath in a purposefully disorganized fashion. One of the primary limitations to the chemical plating process is the need for contact between the various chemicals in the bath and all the fabric surfaces in a fairly uniform way. Specifically, the chemicals in the bath will typically need to contact specific threads within the fabric in order to encourage crystal formation and growth on the particular thread. For this reason, it is very important that the chemicals be able to flow as much as possible through all of the fabric and it is part of the reason why a liquid bath is typically used in the first place. The liquids can penetrate into the fabric to allow for bonding and crystal formation to occur over a greater surface.
However, the somewhat chaotic and disorganized movement of a large piece of fabric in a bath, while intended to improve exposure, is not ideal. As anyone who has ever removed laundry from a washer or dryer knows, a large blanket or similar piece of fabric will often have been crushed into a tight ball during the washing or drying process. Further, the inside of this tight structure is often not fully cleaned, or dried. The change in exposure of fabric surfaces to an external liquid is precisely how the process of “tie-dying” works. Folding, scrunching, crushing, or otherwise tightly pressing parts of a piece of fabric together either purposefully or through the chaotic interaction of the fabric to mechanical or human agitation can result in even the thinnest of liquids being unable to penetrate into all areas of the fabric an equal amount. In tie-dying, this can provide for white space and can be very desirable. However, when making metalized fabric, uneven application of metal to the resultant fabric can be very undesirable.
It is for this reason that fabric can generally not be metalized while it is rolled or folded in convenient shapes for transport. If it was, areas such as the folds or more internal surfaces will be metalized less than outer more exposed areas. Thus, the fabric typically has to be removed from a bolt or roll and placed in the bath in a way that it can freely float to expose all surfaces. It is also why agitation during the metallization process can be helpful. Finally, to deal with the existence of such potential folds or enclosed surfaces, the metallization processing time is often increased as is the percentage of metal available. As these amounts go up, the minimum amount of metallization which will occur in any section of fabric increases, which can result in a final fabric that better meets commercial requirements.
While it is relatively easy to see how suspending a piece of fabric in a bath through which it is agitated for increased time can provide for a more uniform exposure of the fabric to chemicals in the bath, the reality is less simple. This type of process is inherently a batch process and, in the first instance, in order to provide for commercially useful processes, it is typically necessary to expose relatively large amounts of fabric in any one batch. The process of chemical plating takes time and therefore, the larger the amount of fabric which can be exposed to the bath at once, the more cost effective the process is as each batch becomes bigger with the amount of time remaining relatively constant. Further, the larger the bath, the more expensive it is to build the vessel and to fill with the chemical constituents. Thus, there is a tradeoff made between the exposure of the fabric and the size of the bath. As the ratio of fabric to bath increases, the costs typically are reduced.
Further, no matter how hard it is attempted to get a fabric to be consistently exposed to the bath, no exposure of a large amount of fabric in a singular bath is actually going to produce truly consistent exposure to the entire piece of fabric. There will always be folds and bends in the fabric that are more persistent than others and result in areas of decreased crystallization. Similarly, contact by the fabric with the structure of the container holding the bath can result in decreased penetration. Further, in metallization, the exposure is further complicated because the metal material in the bath (as well as some of the other chemicals) are used up during the metallization process. This means that the fabric is not only exposed to different amount of materials at any one time, the amount of exposure changes over time. Further, due to imperfect fluid mixing, the amount of exposure can even change within a bath or fabric during a single metallization cycle. Thus, with so many variables being uncontrolled, creating a consistent exposure is exceedingly difficult and the commercial default is typically to provide more metallization than is necessary overall, to make sure that the points of lower metallization are still within desired bounds.
To deal with these kinds of problems, the metallization process has typically had to deal with tradeoffs. Effectively, the higher the chemical to fabric ratio is both at any given time and over time, and the longer the process is continued, the greater metallization that can occur. However, the cost of production also increases as these same variables increase. As any of these variables are decreased, cost is decreased, but total metallization, and in some respects consistency of metallization, is also decreased.
Consistency of metallization across the entire fabric surface can be very important. Most fabric is metalized as fabric and before it is cut or sewn into an end application. Regardless of the end application, waste in the fabric is typically undesired which means that as much of the fabric as can be used typically will be. In the event items being made are large (for example, clothing or sheets) and to the extent that the effect of the metallization is desired at macro scale (for example reduced odor throughout the entire piece of clothing) the effect of inconsistent metallization is reduced. However, for smaller objects where more consistent metallization is very important and where cut shapes better conform to the shape of the fabric roll (for example, in bandages) decreased consistency of metallization can have increased importance.
To deal with inconsistency in metallization, particularly in fabrics where consistency is of greater importance, the typical solution, as indicated above, has been simply to overcompensate. If a particularly minimum level of metallization was required, an average level of metallization is increased so that the number of areas below that minimum are reduced or eliminated. While this can result in increased costs of raw materials and time, it also provides for more useable end product which, while not necessarily more consistent (although it may be if a maximum amount of crystallization can be controlled) at least provides more consistent minimum performance. At the same time, if systems and methods could be developed which could provide for more consistent metallization, costs should be decreased and more consistent products could actually be produced.
The following is a summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The sole purpose of this section is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Because of these and other problems in the art, described herein are systems and methods, as well as a particular machine, which can be used to improve constancy of fabric exposure to chemicals in a liquid bath and particular in the process of metallization. These systems and methods can be used to provide for more effective batch processing of fabric but can also be linked together to provide for what is effectively a continuous process as well.
Described herein, in an embodiment is a method and a machine utilizing the method for treating a length of fabric, the method comprising: providing a chemical bath divided among a plurality of shallow trays positioned on a frame; feeding a first end of the length of fabric over a first roller and into the chemical bath in a first tray in the plurality of trays; keeping the length of fabric suspended in the chemical bath without contacting the first tray while the length of fabric traverses the first tray; directing the first end over a second roller and into the chemical bath in a second tray in the plurality of trays; keeping the length of fabric suspended in the chemical bath without contacting the second tray while the length of fabric traverses the second tray; and directing the first end over a third roller.
In an embodiment of the method, the length of fabric passes through the first tray in a first direction and the second tray in an opposing second direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the chemical bath in the first tray flows in a flow direction generally parallel to the first direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the flow direction is in a direction generally the same as the first direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the chemical bath in the second tray flows in a flow direction generally parallel to the second direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the flow direction in the second tray is in a direction generally the same as the second direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the flow direction in the second tray is in a direction generally opposing the second direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the chemical bath in the first tray flows in a flow direction generally perpendicular to the first direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the chemical bath in the second tray flows in a flow direction generally perpendicular to the second direction.
In an embodiment of the method, the flow direction in the second tray is in a direction generally the same as the flow direction in the first tray.
In an embodiment of the method, the flow direction in the second tray is in a direction generally opposing the flow direction in the first tray.
In an embodiment of the method, the chemical bath metalizes the length of fabric.
In an embodiment of the method, the first end is connected to a second opposing end of the length of fabric to form a loop.
In an embodiment of the method, there is a laminar flow of the chemical bath over the length of fabric in the first tray.
In an embodiment of the method, the temperature of the chemical bath is generally the same in the first tray as the second tray.
There is also described herein, a method for treating a length of fabric and a machine for carrying out the method, the method comprising: providing a roll of fabric and a plurality of reactors, each of the reactors comprising a plurality of shallow trays positioned on a frame; directing a first end of the roll of fabric into a first reactor in the plurality of reactors; while in the first reactor: feeding a first end of the length of fabric over a first roller and into a chemical bath in a first tray in the plurality of trays; keeping the length of fabric suspended in the chemical bath without contacting the first tray while the length of fabric traverses the first tray; directing the first end over a second roller and into the chemical bath in a second tray in the plurality of trays; and keeping the length of fabric suspended in the chemical bath without contacting the second tray while the length of fabric traverses the second tray; directing the first end over a third roller and into a second reactor in the plurality of reactors; while in the second reactor: feeding a first end of the length of fabric over a first roller and into a chemical bath in a first tray in the plurality of trays; keeping the length of fabric suspended in the chemical bath without contacting the first tray while the length of fabric traverses the first tray; directing the first end over a second roller and into the chemical bath in a second tray in the plurality of trays; and keeping the length of fabric suspended in the chemical bath without contacting the second tray while the length of fabric traverses the second tray; and directing the first end from the plurality of reactors into a later process.
In an embodiment of the method, the temperature of the chemical bath is generally the same in all of the trays in all of the reactors.
In an embodiment of the method, the chemical bath in all of the trays in all of the reactors is supplied from a common source.
In an embodiment of the method, the later process comprises a drying process.
There is also described herein, a reactor for metalizing a length of fabric, the reactor comprising: a frame; a plurality of shallow trays positioned on the frame so as to be stacked generally vertically; a chemical bath divided among the plurality of shallow trays; and a pair of rollers associated with each of the shallow trays in the plurality of trays, wherein the pair of rollers suspend the length of fabric in the chemical bath in the associated tray without the length of fabric contacting the associated tray while the length of fabric traverses the associated tray; wherein, after traversing a first tray in the plurality of shallow trays, the length of fabric traverses a second tray in the plurality of shallow trays.
The following detailed description and disclosure illustrates by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed systems and methods, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the disclosed systems and methods. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the disclosures, it is intended that all matters contained in the description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
As discussed herein, the terms “thread”, “yarn,” and “fiber” are often used interchangeably although those terms are often provided with specific meaning in the art. However, they are all, in some respects, the act of interconnecting “filaments” to form suitable materials for fabric construction. Further “fabric” as used herein will generally comprise any form of material made through the interconnection of any combination of filaments, threads, yarns, or fibers. Although the fabrics may be described as a woven material, this description is not intended to be limited only to weaves and woven material, those are simply a common and well understood example. Materials and fabrics within the scope of this disclosure include without limitation any materials woven, knitted, bound, bonded, crocheted, knotted, tatted, felted, braided, or otherwise formed of any type of threads, yarns, or fibers either exclusively, in combination with different threads, yarns, or fibers, or in combination with non-fabric or non-filament structures. Fabrics as contemplated herein also includes materials formed by application of heat and/or pressure to filaments or other materials. For example, and without limitation, this application includes within its scope non-woven materials made to form fabrics that are not woven or knitted, such as felts. Accordingly, as would be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, the teachings herein are applicable to fabrics made by any method known to persons of ordinary skill in the art and with any type of filament or combinations of filaments. Further, the use of the term “garment” as used herein is primarily to indicate any article of clothing and particularly those constructed from a fabric. However, it should be recognized that the systems and methods discussed herein can be used on other fabric objects which may not be garments (such as, but not limited to, sheets, blankets, awnings, art objects, or others), or which may occasionally be used as garments even if it is not their primary purpose.
The reactor shown in
The reactor of
In order to provide for efficient use of the space, the tray (101) is not a single large tray, but is one of a plurality of similar or identical trays (101) arranged on the frame (103). In the embodiment of
The fabric (501) to be metalized or otherwise exposed to the bath (105) is typically provided on a roll or similar storage mechanism. The fabric (501) will generally be unrolled and threaded through a series of carrier rollers (107) also mounted on the frame (103). As best shown in
In such an embodiment as depicted in
Based on the embodiment of the reactor (100) shown in
While in the volume (111) of the tray (101), the fabric (501) is typically not in contact with a roller (107) or any other surface. While the fabric (501) will typically not be taunt between the rollers (107) arranged at opposing ends of the tray (101), the fabric (501) will also typically not have sufficient slack so as to be able to contact the bottom (113) of the tray (101). The fabric (501) will, thus, be suspended in the shallow volume (111) with some of the fluid of the bath (105) arranged above and below it.
The geometry of the tray (101) and the interrelationship geometry of the tray (101), fabric (501), and bath (105) may be specifically designed to maximize the time that the fabric is exposed to the bath (105) and the way the solution of the bath (105) in in contact with the fabric (501). Further, the relative geometry may also serve to specifically create laminar flow of the solution of the bath (105) across the fabric (501) while reducing or eliminating the possibility of air entrapment and/or the generation of foam. In order to provide for such effects, the specific geometry may be selected based on the specific nature of the fabric (501) being treated and the specific metal or other components of the bath (105) being used for treatment. Thus, the specific design of a tray (101) and how the fabric (501) enters the tray, for example, may be different for a particularly voluminous and fluffy fabric than it is for a smoother more planar fabric.
The fluid forming the bath (105) in the tray (101) will also typically not be static but will instead be arranged to have a particular flow within the tray (101). In an embodiment, the flow may be generally parallel to the flow of the fabric (105) in the tray (101). It may be in either direction such as with the flow of the fabric (105) or in the opposing direction. It may also be different depending on the specific tray (101). In an alternative embodiment, the flow of the fluid (105) in the tray (101) may be in a generally perpendicular direction to the flow of the fabric (501). Again, the flow may be in the same direction across the trays (101) or may be different depending on the specific tray (101). Having a consistent flow speed of both fabric (501) and fluid bath (105) results in fairly fine control of the velocity of fluid (105) passage over the surface of the fabric (501). This can then be selected for optimum crystal formation.
The movement of the fluid (105) and the fabric (501) within the volume (111) of the tray (101) will typically serve to provide for a number of additional benefits as well. In particular, the fabric (501) will typically have minimal, if any, folds, creases, wrinkles, or pockets in its structure. This can increase the uniformity of filament exposure to the bath (105). Further, having the fluid (105) within the tray (101) flow through the volume (111) in a generally laminar fashion can create a specific circulation pattern within the tray (101) which can be generally known and, thus, serve to control the fluid (105) exposure and eliminate unexpected or unknown turbulence or vortex formation in the fluid (105). Further, the generally shallow depth of the volume (111) of the tray (101) and positioning of the fabric within the depth can serve to provide a specific level of bath (105) exposure without large excesses of fluid (105) being necessary and can avoid air or foam entrapment by the fabric (501) which can also improve the consistency of fluid (105) exposure.
In different embodiments, different mechanisms may be used to supply the bath (105) to the tray (101). For example, in a simple arrangement, the fluid (105) may be simply supplied through a connected hose which discharges into one end of the tray (101) or the other. However, far more sophisticated mechanisms may be used on other embodiments to alter bath (105) exposure. For example, sophisticated discharge arrangements utilizing multiple ports of entry into the tray (101) may be used to induce particular flows within the tray. Further, fluid (105) may be supplied above or below existing fluid (105) levels in the tray (101) to either cause air mixing of the fluid (105) or to avoid it. Such alternative methods of distribution can include, for example specific spray heads that distribute new or returning fluid into the tray (105) according to a particular stream or droplet distribution pattern.
As shown in
As contemplated above, discharged fluid from all the trays (101) will generally be returned to a single return tank (403). Once there, the chemical composition of the fluid (105) may be determined through included sensors or similar devices. This may be used to alter mechanical properties of the reactor (100) (e.g. to alter the speed of fluid (105) flow through the various trays (101)) as the composition changes or the chemical composition of the returned fluid (105) may be altered so as to return the resultant composition to within certain preset values within the mixing tank (401).
Regardless of the option selected, the fluid (105) is sent out and returned to the trays (101) in a consistent known fashion. As this process of returning, mixing of fluid (105) from the various trays (101), mixing of returned fluid (105) with stored fluid (105), and return of the fluid (105) to the trays (101) can happen essentially continuously, it should be apparent that the fluid (105) entering each tray (101) may be generally the same as any other tray (101). Further, the fluid (105) composition within each tray (101) may stay generally constant over time or at least alter in a known fashion. Thus, the composition of the bath (105) to which any part of the fabric (501) in any tray (101) at any time is exposed to is generally known and may be consistent across time and tray (101).
In addition to control of the chemical composition of the fluid (105) in the tray (101), the temperature of the bath (105) may also be controlled by a temperature process control system (500). This system (500) is designed so that the fluid (105), when provided to each tray (101), goes out at a consistent temperature (typically within a range) which further improves uniformity of the bath (105) between trays (101) and over time and may allow the metallization process to operate at preferred temperature values.
While
In the embodiment of
While the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a description of certain embodiments, including those that are currently believed to be the preferred embodiments, the detailed description is intended to be illustrative and should not be understood to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, embodiments other than those described in detail herein are encompassed by the present invention. Modifications and variations of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
It will further be understood that any of the ranges, values, properties, or characteristics given for any single component of the present disclosure can be used interchangeably with any ranges, values, properties, or characteristics given for any of the other components of the disclosure, where compatible, to form an embodiment having defined values for each of the components, as given herein throughout. Further, ranges provided for a genus or a category can also be applied to species within the genus or members of the category unless otherwise noted.
Finally, the qualifier “generally,” and similar qualifiers as used in the present case, would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to accommodate recognizable attempts to conform a device to the qualified term, which may nevertheless fall short of doing so. This is because terms such as “rectangular” are purely geometric constructs and no real-world component is a true “rectangular” in the geometric sense. Variations from geometric and mathematical descriptions are unavoidable due to, among other things, manufacturing tolerances resulting in shape variations, defects and imperfections, non-uniform thermal expansion, and natural wear. Moreover, there exists for every object a level of magnification at which geometric and mathematical descriptors fail due to the nature of matter. One of ordinary skill would thus understand the term “generally” and relationships contemplated herein regardless of the inclusion of such qualifiers to include a range of variations from the literal geometric or other meaning of the term in view of these and other considerations.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/452,150, filed on Mar. 14, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63452150 | Mar 2023 | US |
