Patent ID: 7459027
Filing Date: 2008-12-02
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for enabling the uniform application of a layer of a coating composition to a substrate comprising a seamless tubular flexible cylinder having a specified length and a specified diameter, said apparatus comprising: a shaft; an upper circular rim member and a lower 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 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 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 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; and wherein each of said tubes is inflatable to a pressure sufficient to provide the substrate with a smooth cylindrical outer surface for uniform application of a coating composition.