Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Surface Coating Materials in Web Form for Printing Upon and for other uses.
Year: 1897

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883) as allowed by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 26th day of February 1898.
Date of Application, 4th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 3rd Apr.,
1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Surface Coating Materials
in Web Form for Printing Upon and for other uses.
A communication from abroad by CHARLES MINOT GAGE, of Pepperell, County
of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America,
Manufacturer.
I ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
London, Chartered Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention bas for its object the production of novel apparatus by which to
surface-coat on both sides of paper or other fabric in web form, used for various
purposes; such as for printing upon, especially in high class art or illus-
trative work means being provided for drying the coating before the fabric is
finally delivered from the apparatus, the fabric to be surface coated being in
practice taken from a roll, coated, dried, and stacked up in loose folds or loops.
My improved apparatus comprehends a vessel to hold the surface-coating
material, suitable means to control the quantity of such material left upon the web,
and a series of rolls and brushes, the rolls aiding in feeding the web and the
brushes acting upon opposite sides thereof to smooth it.
Passing from the coating devices the web is acted upon and held suspended in
transit by a series of blasts of a heating medium, steam or air, the latter preferably
heated, the web being held suspended thus until the coating is sufficiently dry or
hard to permit of the engagement and operation of mechanism which stacks the
web up in a series of loose folds or loops.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus comprehending my invention, all
minor details being omitted and hereinafter shown more particularly in larger and
detailed drawings.
Figs. 2 and 3 taken together show on a much larger scale the surface-coating
mechanism and the adjacent portion of the drying devices.
Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 2 on the irregular liner, looking to the right some
of the rolls being broken away to show the parts beyond.
Fig. 5 is a section to the right of the dotted line, Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 is a top view of a portion of the stacking or delivery mechanism, and
Fig. 7 is a sectional detail thereof.
The framework A, which may be of any suitable shape and construction to
support the working parts, has a shaft B which in practice will be provided with
any usual belt or driving pulleys P, driven from any suitable source.

page_text: The shaft C also has a suitable pulley upon it and will be driven from some
suitable counter-shaft, said pulley being shown only by dotted lines, for in Fig. 2,
the shaft C is cut off to show its bearings.
The shaft carries a suitable roll C having a felt or similar covering C
Opposed to this roll is a roll D having a felt surfaced covering D¹, the shaft D2
of the roll D being mounted in movable bearing blocks 13 made adjustable by or
through a suitable adjusting device 1 shown as a screw, the said screw in practice
being loosely connected with a part of the bearing, a portion of the bearing
entering an annular groove in the end of the screw, so that by rotating the screw
the bearing D³ may be moved toward and from the bearing C³ for the roll C¹,
thus permitting the web of paper or other material W to have removed from it
more or less of the coating material which is applied to the web when passing
through the box or vat E containing the coating material.
The shafts C and D, carrying the rolls C and D are provided with gears C³, D³,
which mesh together, thus enabling the two rolls to be rotated in unison.
The web to be coated, taken from the roll R, as at the left in Figs. and 2, is
led about suitable rolls a, a, and under an immersing roll shown as having
journals in a vertically moving gate or frame a provided with like racks a², one
just within each of the machine sides, and adapted to be engaged by two like
gears on a shaft as having a suitable hand wheel a'.
The shaft a may have a ratchet wheel at fast on it, having co-operating with it
a suitable detent or locking pawl 8 to thereby hold the immersing roll in any
position in the vat in which it may be adjusted by the operator.
It will be obvious that the web will be coated on both sides with the coating
material.
Beyond the rolls C, D, the web coated on both sides 'passes over a felt covered
roll B fast on the shaft B referred to, and the web in the continuation of its travel
is passed under a second felt covered roll 12, Figs. 1 and 3, then over a brush
roll B, and thence to the drying means.
The roll B at one end, let it be assumed its farther end in Figs. 1 and 2 has
applied to it outside the edges of the felt covering an open belt b, which is
extended about one end of the roll 13 at its farther end viewing Figs. 1 and 3,
and the end of the roll B3 at the front in Fig. 3, has, as herein represented, a
sprocket chain 61 to be referred to.
The front end of the roll B¹ receives over it a cross belt 2, the latter being
extended, see Fig. 3, over one end of the roll B³.
Parallel to the length of the machine in suitable bearings I have mounted
a shaft F, see Figs. 2 and 3 upon which is a pulley F driven by a suitable
belt E from any suitable counter-shaft supported in suitable hangers d.
The shaft F has an eccentric d' embraced by an eccentric strap d of a link d
jointed to a stand d of a sliding brush , Fig. 4, guide rods de from the ends of
the brush back being guided in suitable fixed bearings in a stand do.
The shaft F carries a second eccentric e embraced by an eccentric strap e' at the
upper end of a rod e² slotted at 3 and having its fulcrum on projection of an
arm pivoted at e, the lower end of the said arms being jointed at e to a rod e8
in turn jointed at its opposite end to the back of the brush e, the brush back
having at its end guide pins el guided in suitable stands e¹¹.
The shaft F has also one or more cam knockers f, three being shown, each of
which acts on a plate 2 secured to the head 3 of the sliding bar f' free to slide in
stands, there being a spring 4 to back up the plate 2.
The sliding bar f¹ has two projections 6, 7, one each side of one of the stands f,
and between the said projections and stands are spiral springs 8, 9, which
co-operate together and keep the plates 2 pressed against the cam knocker, the
spring 8 yielding to let the bar slide as the plate 2 is pushed by the cam
knocker.
Each of the two slide bars f¹ nearer the roll B2 have fixed to them a rod f³

page_text: which is suitably fixed at its lower end to a casting f* bolted to the brush back fo
carrying the brush fo
:
The back f is connected by suitable bolts 10, shown chiefly by dotted lines
Fig. 4, to a second back g of a brush g', the backs f and g having suitable
guide pins or rods extended from their outer ends through suitable bearings in the
stands f
The two backs f and g constitute a double brush and in the space between
the bristles f and gl is passed the web W, the said sets of bristles acting one
against the upper and the other against the lower side of the web, and having a
rapid reciprocating short stroke movement.
The last slide bar f' to the right. Fig. 3, is located above the brush roll B³, and
the brush F6 actuated by said slide bar rapidly reciprocates against the upper side,
of the web as it passes over the roll 133, the latter rotating against the lower side
of the web and serving also as a feed roll therefor.
When the web leaves the brush roll B, its surface coating is wet, damp or
tacky, and if handled before it has properly dried or hardened, the coating will
be marred, and, accordingly, at a considerable distance from the roll B³, I place
suitable feed means, shown in Fig. 1 as a preferably felt covered roll 2, positively
driven, as will be described, and between which and a superposed small roll p¹ the
web passes, the feeding device drawing the web along from the surface coating
mechanism.
Owing to the distance between the feeding mechanism and the coating
mechanism and the operation of an interposed drying mechanism, the coating on
the web is sufficiently hard to admit of its handling, without injury when the
feeding device is reached.
After the web leaves the roll B and before it reaches the feeding device, it is
subjected to the action of a series of blasts of a suitable drying medium, both on
its upper and lower side, said medium being preferably heated air.
Below the web are located a series of rolls o, five in number, as shown in
Fig. 1, although in actual practice I prefer to use a greater number, as for instance
twelve or more!
The first few rolls, the first and second as shown in Fig. 1 are covered with
bristles o*, while the other rolls of the series are covered with felt, or similar
material.
Each roll has secured to its shaft, or otherwise, a sprocket or other wheel o¹ to be
engaged by an endless sprocket chain or band b', driven in this instance by a
sprocket 30 on the shaft of the roll B³.
The sprockets 30 and o' are of such a diameter that the surface speed of the
rolls o is the same as the linear speed of the web W.
A main supply pipe M is extended longitudinally below the rolls o through
which the drying medium passes from a suitable source, such as a blower, and
pipes m* and *, lead from the main M up to nozzles m, n, above and below the
web respectively..
The lower nozzles are located in front of the rolls o and so related thereto
that the blast of air issuing from said nozzles will impinge against the underside
of the web just in front of the rolls, the, blast having sufficient force to maintain
the web out of contact with several of the rolls, and the action of the blast at each
roll is substantially to interpose a thin layer of air between each roll and the web,
thereby reducing the friction.
t
The liability of injury to the coating of the web by contact with the rolls is thus
reduced to a minimum, and it will be obvious that the coating is more and more
fully dried as the web passes beyond each nozzle.
At the right hand end of the series of rolls o, Fig. 1 the coating will be so hard
that light contact of the web and rolls will produce no injury to the coating, the
equal surface speed of the rolls tending still further to prevent injury.
The nozzles m are arranged above the web and preferably so related to the
nozzles n that the blasts from the upper nozzles will engage the upper side of the

page_text: web substantially above the impact of the blast beneath, the upper blasts acting to
dry the coating on the upper side of the web.
If for any reason the blast from one or the other of the lower nozzles should
unduly decrease or be shut off, ue adjacent roll o will serve to uphold the web.
The nozzles may be fan shaped and have each either a continuous delivery
opening or slot extended transversely to the direction of travel of the web, or a
series of fine holes extended along the mouths m³, n¹, of the nozzles.
Suitable idler sprockets o², support the return side of the endless sprocket chain
or band-b¹.
A brush roll located below the feed roll 2 and actuated by the sprocket
chain b', serves to keep the surface of the feeding roll clean.
After the web leaves the feedin rolls p, p, it is passed between a second pair
of similar feed rolls q, q', the roll 9 being felt covered and kept clean by a brush
roll, the latter pair of feed rolls delivering the web to a hanging mechanism.
Said mechanism comprises a lower shaft t and two short upper shafts t¹ parallel
to the feed rolls and having thereon wheels or pulleys t*, tx, respectively, around
which are passed endless bands 2, having secured thereto oppositely, lugs or pro-
jections t³.
The shaft t may be driven by a belt q* from the feed roll q, if desired.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the shafts t¹ are provided each with a secondary
wheel within the wheels t, and around them are passed endless carriers to having
oppositely located lugs to.
A suitable chute or hopper v having an open lower end is inclined towards the
lower shaft t, said chute or hopper containing a series of loose bars * of wood or
other suitable material.
The lowermost bar of the series bears against the two bands 2, until a pair of
the lugs t3 in the travel of said bands engage the bar from underneath.
The continued movement of the lugs with the bands, causes the bar to be picked
off from the series and carried up, as shown in Fig. 1, and to a larger scale in
Fig. 7, and it should be noted that the web after leaving the rolls q, q', is passed
between the bands t2.
The distance between the inner wheels is also greater than the width of the
web.
As the bar engages the web, it will carry it up between the two bands 12 until
the projections to on the carrier bands to engage the bar, picking it from the lugs t³
and carrying the bar away to the right, Fig. 1, with the web hanging over said bar
in a loop or loose fold.
This operation is repeated with one bar after another, so that the web is finally
collected on the carrier bands t5 in a series of loose depending loops or bends w*,
and thereafter the web may be delivered to any suitable mechanism.
To enable the surface coating material, applied to both surfaces of the web to be
retained thercon in sufficient quantity, I ascertained that this might be done pro-
vided the rolls between which the web was first passed after leaving the tank and
being immersed in the surface-coating material were covered with a soft textile
body, such for instance as felt.
Having discovered this, I then made one of the rolls, as D, adjustable toward
and from the other, so as to regulate the amount of pressure put upon the coated
web while passing between the rolls C¹ and D.
The roll B also preferably coated with felt or equivalent material, and the
rolls B and B further to the right of it in the drawings, see Figs. 1 and 3, act to
feed the web through the machine or to draw the web through the tank, and for
the best results the surface speed of the rolls C, D, gained by an independent
driving belt is made to correspond substantially with the surface speed of the web
derived from the other rolls referred to, I preferring to drive the rolls C¹, D, at
such speed in order to prevent the wiping of the surface coating material from
the web.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In an apparatus for surface-coating material in web form, surface-coating
mechanism, distant feed rolls for the web, to maintain longitudinal movement of
the web between them and the coating mechanism, and drying means between the
latter and the feed rolls, said means comprising nozzles arranged to direct blasts
of air upon the under side of the web, and just in advance of rolls having the same
speed as the web, to maintain a film of air between said rolls and the web, the
upper side of the web having air blasts directed thereupon.
2. In an apparatus for surface-coating material in web form, surface-coating
mechanism, drying blasts of air to act upon the coated sides of the web, the latter
being maintained substantially in mid-air by the blasts until the coating is hard,
elevated feed rolls, a travelling conveyor to engage the web after leaving the feed
rolls and loop it, and a carrier to take the successive depending loops of the web
from the conveyer, substantially as herein described.
1001
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.