Patent ID: 6920907

Claim:
Apparatus for forming agricultural drip tape comprising: a first supply station adapted to supply a continuous length of flexible material; a second station including a trimmer roll and a pair of associated knife blades arranged to trim opposite longitudinal edges of the material to form a strip of predetermined width; a third station including a slitter wheel arranged to cut axially spaced longitudinal slits in said strip; a fourth station for forming and then applying a bead of material onto a surface of the strip as the strip travels about a roll, said fourth station having at least one pressure roller to apply pressure to said bead as it is joined to said surface, said bead when applied to said strip having one or more secondary flow paths performed therein, each flow path having an outlet area and wherein drives of said third and fourth stations are coordinated so that each outlet area lies radially adjacent a corresponding one of said longitudinal slits; and a fifth station including a plurality of rollers arranged to wrap said strip about a mandrel into tubular form; a nozzle arranged to apply an adhesive bead along one of said longitudinal edges of said strip; and at least one pressure roller for applying pressure along said longitudinal edge to form a bonded seam between the longitudinal edges of the strip.