At+t Corp.

At&t Bell Laboratories

Joseph W Kaczorek

Edwin S Treible

Edward M Olbrick

David B Hollesen

Albert V Heuschkel

A moisture-collecting hood assembly (10) for a vapor-generating machine (12) includes a hood (14) having an open bottom (15)and upwardly tapering sides (16) and ends (18). On the inside of the hood is a gutter (24) for collecting moisture in the vapor condensing on the hood interior. Vapors from the machine that enter the hood are exhausted through a horizontally-oriented, moisture-collecting sleeve that has a central portion (46) whose cross-sectional area is larger than that of an inlet (43) in communication with the hood, and an outlet (48) in communication with a negatively pressurized exhaust line (49). The central portion of the sleeve serves to collect moisture in its lower portion that condenses from the vapor exhausted from the hood.

Moisture-collecting hood assembly

An apparatus (10) for spraying a liquid, such as a low-solids flux, onto a substrate (12), during its transit along a first path (15), comprises a spray gun (38) directed at the substrate. The gun (38) is carried by a carriage (34) reciprocated by a traversing mechanism (42,44,46) which reciprocates the gun back and forth along a second path (30) generally perpendicular to the first path (15). The spray gun (38) is reciprocated such that its spray pattern during each pass slightly overlaps the pattern made during the previous pass, thereby achieving substantially uniform liquid coating on the substrate. Each time the gun (38) reaches an end of its travel, its tip (39) is advantageously cleaned automatically by a brush (84) wetted by a solvent to avoid tip clogging.

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Neshanic Station, NJ, United States of America

Joseph W Kaczorek