Patent ID: 7560140
Filing Date: 2009-07-14
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. With an apparatus comprising a vertical shaft; an upper horizontal circular rim member and a lower horizontal circular rim member of equal diameter, each said rim member being concentrically attached to said shaft and separated from one another by a distance at least equal to the length of the substrate; a pneumatically inflatable tube disposed on each said circular rim member, each said tube being provided with a pneumatic valve and having an outer diameter that is variable with changes in its internal pressure; a first flexible cylindrical sheet contacting and substantially surrounding each of said tubes, said first sheet having vertical edges parallel to one another and forming a first slit sufficiently wide to permit movement of said first sheet in response to variation in said internal pressure of said tubes; a second flexible cylindrical sheet contacting and substantially surrounding said first cylindrical sheet, said second sheet having vertical edges parallel to one another and forming a second slit sufficiently wide to permit movement of said second sheet in response to variation in said internal pressure of said tubes, said second slit being laterally displaced from said first slit, second cylindrical sheet having a diameter nearly equal to the specified diameter of the substrate; a process for coating a seamless tubular flexible cylindrical substrate having a specified length and a specified diameter, said process comprising: placing said seamless tubular flexible cylindrical substrate around said second flexible cylindrical sheet; inflating said tubes to a pressure sufficient to provide the substrate with a smooth, uniform cylindrical outer surface; and applying a coating composition to said outer surface of said substrate, thereby forming a uniform layer of said coating composition thereon.