The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 12, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 13, 2000
David W. Gruszczynski, II, Webster, NY (US);
Kenneth J. Ruschak, Rochester, NY (US);
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY (US);
Abstract
A movable trough is taught for establishing a uniform wetting line on the rear face of a curtain coating hopper lip. The trough can be pivoted or moved linearly into a position such that the hopper lip resides in or proximate to the movable trough. The curtain coating apparatus is then started and the coating solution leaving the hopper lip is intercepted by the trough. The coating solution flowing over the lip fills and floods the movable trough. The flooding of the trough forces the coating solution to substantially wet (to a height on the back side of the lip significantly higher than that of natural product flow) the back side of the hopper lip. The movable trough is then retracted from its position immediately beneath the hopper lip and intercepting the coating solution exiting the hopper lip to thereby allow the free-falling curtain to form and begin impingement on the moving support web to be coated. As the curtain forms, the wetting line on the back of the hopper lip naturally retracts toward the tip of the hopper lip thereby forming a uniform wetting line and a uniform curtain.