US2918896A - Leveling rollers for leveling and making paint or enamel coatings uniform - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 29, 1959 UHLEEN 2,918,896

A. E. LEVELING ROLLERS FOR LEVELING AND MAKING PAINT OR ENAMEL COATINGS UNIFORM Filed June 17, 1955 37 4 I I I 36 j 38 3 1 23 I 2 52 5a. 5 5/ 24a INVENTOR. fer/I02 f. Uhz EE/V.

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United States Patent LEVELING ROLLERS FOR LEVELING AND MAK- ING PAINT OR ENAMEL COATINGS UNIFORM Arthur E. Uhleen, Allentown, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to National Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June 17, 1955, Serial No. 516,227

1 Claim. (Cl. 118118) This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for applying and leveling coatings of paints or enamels after they have been applied to the surfaces of strips of materials while said strips are in motion.

Another object of the invention is the provision of leveling rollers which have surfaces formed with lateral leads for removing from the surfaces of strips of materials deposits of paint or enamel and for thereby leaving on the surfaces of said strip coatings of a predetermined thinness.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision in apparatus of the character described of threaded rollers which naturally have a right or left hand lateral lead and adapted to remove portions of paint or enamel coatings from the surface of an elongated strip and thereby to leave on the surface of said strip a coating of a predetermined thickness and consistency.

Another object of the invention is the provision of leveling rollers which have surfaces formed with lateral leads for removing from the surfaces of strips of materials deposits of paint or enamel and for thereby leaving on the surfaces of said strip coatings of a predetermined thinness, and including means to rotate said rollers so that the surfaces thereof in contact with the coating on said strip are moving in a direction counter to the direction of movement of said strip.

Another object of the invention is the provision of leveling rollers which have surfaces formed with lateral leads for removing from the surfaces of strips of materials deposits of paint or enamel and for thereby leaving on the surfaces of said strip coatings of a predetermined thinness, means to rotate said rollers so that the surfaces thereof in contact with the coating on said strip are moving in a direction counter to the direction of movement of said strip, and including individual trough means beneath said rollers to catch the excess paint or enamel removed from the surfaces of said strips by said rollers.

Yet a further object of the invention is the provision in apparatus of the character described of rollers having their outer surfaces threaded so as to give a lateral motion to the paint or enamel as the latter is being removed from the surfaces of the strips immediately after they have been coated.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision in apparatus of the character described of rollers having their outer surfaces knurled with a lateral lead so that as the rolls remove excess paint or enamel from the coated surfaces of said strips the removal is effected in a lateral sense.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate diagrammatically apparatus suitable for practicing the invention:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a strip being transported on a vertical path and several operations being performed on the same during its transit;

Patented Dec. 29, 1959 Figure 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross-section, of an applicator showing more details than those shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational view showing a portion of my finely threaded roller for finally metering the thickness of the coating to produce a predetermined thinness;

Figure 4 is an elevational view similar to that of Figure 3, except that the threads thereon are coarser, for leveling the coating;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a modified roller having its outer periphery knurled or otherwise configurated into a pattern other than threaded and adapted to level off and thin coatings to a level coating of a predetermined thickness; and

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic representation of the strip and apparatus of Figure l with means being shown for conveying the strip along a vertical path at speeds above 200 feet per minute.

The apparatus shown herein for practicing the invention includes one of my improved applicators such as is shown, described, and claimed in my application Serial Number 326,256, filed December 16, 1952, now US. Patent No. 2,784,697.

The applicator per se, Figures 1, 2 and 6, comprises a hollow cylindrical member 10 having a head 11 on one end thereof, and having an elongated stub shaft 12 extending axially and outwardly therefrom into a bearing block 13 which is in turn secured on a support 14. The support 14 is a portion of a frame generally designated by the numeral 15.

The other end of the applicator may be provided with a like head and stud shaft extending into a like bearing block, thus with aligned stud shafts extending into such bearing blocks, the applicator is freely rotatable, but for one restraining feature in which an arm 16 has a curvilinear portion which embraces the shaft 12 and terminates in a tab portion 18, and aligned holes in the arm and in said tab portion accommodate a clamping screw 19 which effects and maintains a positive fixed relation between said arm and said applicator.

The frame 15 carries a vertical shaft 20 which has threads 21 thereon. The shaft 20 extends through a suitable hole in the arm 16, and a lower nut 22 and an upper nut 23 are used to slightly rotate the applicator 10 and thereby adjust the relation of a longitudinal slot 25 in the applicator relative to the strip material to be coated and thereby the thickness of the coating applied upon the surface of the elongated strip is controlled. This slot or slit 25 is formed in the body of the cylindrical member 10 and extends longitudinally from end to end thereof. The body 10 (Figure 2) also has flattened surfaces adjacent to the edges which define the slot 25. One of these flattened surfaces carries a flat plate member or blade 26, the longitudinal edge 27 of which is adjustable relative to the edge of the slot for regulating the effective width of said slot and consequently the quantity of coating material delivered to an elongated strip 24. The blade 26 is held to the body 10 by means of screws 28 extending through elongated holes in the blade and engaging threaded holes in the body 10. Backing up the outer edge of the blade are screws 28a which are provided for retaining any desired adjustment.

This elongated strip 24 is carried on transporting rollers (not shown) and is moved upwardly along a verticalpath at a predetermined rate, and it is understood that this strip has previously been processed and cleaned to make it chemically clean and it retains sufficient heat to maintain it at a temperature which is sufficiently be low the flash point of the paint or other coating material tained at elevated temperatures approaching the temperature of the strip 24.

The applicator 10, which may be best seen in Figures 1 and 2 has a fitting 20' which threadedly engages a hole in the end of the applicator, and a conduit 39 is con nected to the fitting 20 by means of an element 29 of the fitting. The conduit 30 is connected to a source of paint or other coating fluid, it being understood that the solvent content thereof is substantially less than the amount of solvent ordinarily employed.

The coating fluid is delivered via the conduit 3i and the fitting 24) to the hollow interior 31 of the applicator under pressure, and in many instances the applicator and the conduit may be insulated in any suitable manner to minimize the leakage of heat from the coating fluid.

Now when applying coating fluids at the rates referred to herein, the adjustments above referred to do not prevent an excess of said coating fluids from being applied to the surfaces of said strip and for this reason 1 provide a leveling roll spaced apart from the applicator. This leveling roll may comprise a roll 3 having fairly coarse threads 29 formed on the outer periphery thereof. This roll has a shaft extension 31 on one end, and a similar shaft extension 32 on the other end thereof.

A vertical frame member 33, is connected to the base portion 15 and it extends upwardly. A horizontal arm 34 extends laterally fro-m the vertical frame member 33 and supports a bearing 35 into which the shaft 31 is journaled. The shaft 32 is journaled in a similar bearing supported on a similar horizontal arm (not shown).

The periphery of the roller 30 may contact the face 24a of the strip 24. In order to make the leveling roll most effective it should be rotated in either direction. I prefer to rotate the roller 30 in a direction counter to the movement of the strip 24, as indicated on the end thereof in Figure 1 by a clockwise arrow and described below.

The vertical frame member 33 also has a second horizontal arm 36, which is parallel to and spaced apar from the arm 34. A second roller 37 which has, for example, finer threads 40 than those on the roller 34 is provided with shaft extensions on each end thereof journaled in suitable bearings. One of these may be seen at 38 and it is journaled in a bearing 39 supported on the arm 36. The shaft 31 carries a pulley 41, while the shaft 38 carries a pulley 42 aligned with the pulley 41. A speed reducer 44 is mounted on a frame comprised of the arm 34, and it has an output shaft 45 upon which a pulley 46 is carried in alignment with the pulleys 41 and 42 and these three pulleys are spanned by a belt 47 which drives the rollers 30 and 37 in unison.

The speed reducer has an input shaft 48 carrying a pulley 49 which is spanned by a belt 50 which also embraces a small pulley 51 carried on a shaft 52 of an electric motor 53 supported on the frame. Thus the motor drives both the roller 30 and the roller 37 in a clockwise direction and at uniform speeds. 1 term the roller 37 my metering roll, since it contacts the strip after the roller 30 has performed a leveling operation.

Beneath the roller 39 is a drain trough 54 supported on frame member 34 by means of a bracket 55. The end of the trough carries a fitting 56 to which one end of a conduit 57 is connected. This conduit is connected to a system (not shown) for returning the excess coating to the source to which the conduit 30 is connected, so that the surplus coating material can be re-circulated.

Beneath the roller 37 is a drain trough 58 which is supported on the frame arm 36 by means of a bracket 60. The end 59 of the trough carries a fitting to which one end of a conduit 61 is connected, and this conduit is also connected to the system for returning the excess coating to the source to which the conduit 341 15 connected, so that said surplus coating material can be recirculated.

In Figure 3, I show a portion of my metering roll 37 in elevation, and this roll has formed on its periphery comparatively fine threads 41?.

The leveling roll 31? is shown in Figure 4, and it carries comparatively coarse threads 29.

A modified type of roll 42 is shown in Figure 5, and it has shaft extensions on each end thereof, one of them being shown at 43. The outer surface of the roll 4?. is configurated or embossed with a desired design for obtaining certain desired effects. For example, I may form the surface 41 by knurling it, with the lead of the knurl tending to the right end or to the left end.

By the same token, the threads 29 and 41 on the rolls 3%? and 37 may be right hand or left hand according to the results desired.

Referring now to Figure 6 of the drawings, after passing upwardly past applicator 10, roller 3&1 and roller 37, the strip 24 then passes over driven roll 62 and is coiled on driven coiling means 63. The roll 62 and coiling means 63 may be driven by conventional means not shown in the interest of simplifying the drawings at speeds providing a desired strip speed, i.e., at speeds providing a strip speed above 200 feet per minute.

Although I have herein shown and described, by way of example, rollers for leveling and metering the coating on the strips after it has been applied thereto, it is understood that other rollers than those specifically shown and described may be employed.

1 claim:

In an apparatus of the character described, means to convey an elongated strip along a vertical path at speeds above 200 feet per minute, an elongated hollow applicator having an elongated slot formed therein with an outer edge of the slot being adapted to barely clear a surface of the strip, an adjustable blade mounted on the applicator and forming an outer edge of the slot which is in working alignment with the opposing outer edge of the slot, means for adjustably mounting said blade, a supply of coating material under pressure connected to the applicator for application from said slot upon at least a portion of said surface of the strip as it is moved along said path, a peripherally threaded roller having its periphery in wiping contact with a coating on said surface of the strip, a second peripherally threaded roller spaced apart vertically from the first roller and having its periphery in wiping contact with the coating on said surface of the strip, both rollers being mounted above the applicator and being operative to collectively remove portions of and to level the coating on said surface of the strip, means to drive said first and second rollers in directions to cause the portions in contact with the coating material on said surface of the strip to move opposite to the direction of movement of said strip, and individual receptacles below said rollers to collect the ma terial removed from said strip, each receptacle having outlets via which the collected material is removed therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,421,662 Bossert July 4, 1922 1,468,333 Thom Sept. 18, 1923 1,956,562 Co-ates May 1, 1934 2,251,264 Berch et al. Aug. 5, 1941 2,285,041 Mayer et a1. June 2, 1942 2,330,282 Hazeltine et al. Sept. 28, 1943 2,415,644 Leonard et al. Feb. 11, 1947 2,429,862 Woofter et al. M Oct. 28, 1947 2,464,771 Van Guelpen Mar. 15, 1949

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