Patent ID: 6854301

Claim:
A press device for use in the leather industry having an extended nip for dewatering hides, comprising: a press roll having a smooth cylindrical surface; a pressure shoe having a cylindrically concave surface whose radius of curvature is substantially similar to that of the press roll; the pressure shoe being in close physical proximity to the press roll, thereby forming the extended nip between the press roll and the pressure shoe; hydraulic means operatively attached to the pressure shoe to adjust the distance between the press roll and the pressure shoe to control a pressure of the extended nip; a shoe press belt encircling and sliding over the pressure shoe on a lubricating film of oil; the shoe press belt being impermeable to oil and having grooves on an outer surface thereof; a first felt belt encircling and rotating about the press roll; and a second felt belt encircling the press belt and rotating about the pressure shoe; wherein the shoe press belt prevents the second felt belt from directly sliding against the pressure shoe; wherein wet hides are placed between the first and second felt belts and conveyed through the extended nip; the extended nip pressing water from the hides through the second felt belt where the water is channeled away via the grooves in the shoe press belt.