US2285041A - Coating machine - Google Patents

Description

c. w. MAYER ETAL 285,041

June 2, 1942.

COATING MACHINE Filed Aug.'8, 1958.

`'7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IVENTORS: yam/62:5* and June 2, 1942a C. W. MAYER ET'AL COATING MACHINE FiledAug. 8,v 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 2, 1942. w. MAYER ETAL f 2,285,041

' coATING MACHINE Filed'Aug. 8, 1938 f v sheets-sheet 5 ar/m Zz). /lfaygg INVENTORS.'

June 2, 1942- c. w. MAYR Asama. 2,285,041

coATING MACHINE Filed Aug.; e, 1958 fr sheets-sheet esA TTG-.15?

June 2 1942- y c. w. MAYERV ETAL K `'2,285,041

coATING IMACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 CZJI'GZ? M a2; INVENTORS:

on the same scale;

Patented June 2. 1942 COATING MACHINE Charles W. Mayer, Walter Lueders, and Ralph J.

Consler, Rochester, N. Y.; said Lueders and said Consler, assignors to said Mayer Application August '8, 1938, Serial No. 223,622

10 Claims.

Our present invention relates to coating machines and more particularly to machines for applying a liquid coating to a continuous web of paper or similar material as it passes from a supply or mill roll to ultimate winding lin a finished state on a take-up roll, and the invention has for its object to provide an improved and enlcient machine of this character that will work with rapidity and produce a iinished coated product of exceptional quality. The improvements are d1- rected in part toward the means for applying and spreading the viscous dope upon the web; toward the means for controlling its temperature and hence its viscosity; toward means for properly surfacing and spreading the receiving Web before it goes to the dope spreader; toward means for insuring the coating of the paper or similar material to its extreme edges so that trimming is not thereafter required, and toward means for burnishing and imparting uniformity and luster to the coated web before it is wound as a iinished product upon the take-up roll. 'lovrthese and other ends, the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at thevend of this specication.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a coating machine constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of our invention, the details of various elements of the machine having been made subservient in this view to a clear portrayal of theigeneral scheme of the driving gear;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but more diagrammatic in its nature, the same being addressed largely to making clear the path ofthe web as it proceeds through the machine;

Fig. 3 is a very much enlarged view broken away of the unit mechanism that spreads or attens and prepares the web just before its passage into y the dope applying area; Y

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the spreadingl device shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryr front elevation of the unit of Fig. 3 further enlarged;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of theA driving mechanism of the unit of Fig. 3 still on the same scale;

Fig. 7 is a detail vertical section taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a detail vertical section taken substantially on the linevof Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a detail plan View partially in section,

plicator;

broken away, and enlarged of the lower contact I member for the web that opposes the dope applicator; v

Fig. 10 is an enlarged elevation partly in section and brokenaway of the dope applicator viewed from the same side of the machine as appears in Fig. 1;

, Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary View of certain elements of the dope applicator;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of one of the cut-off valves of the dope ap- Fig. 13 is a top plan'view partly in section of the dope box on the scale of Fig. 1 or much reduced in scale from the related iigures on the same sheet;

Fig. 14 is a rear elevation, enlarged and viewed from a, plane transverse to the main, of a unit or station of the machine embodying a smoothing and burnishing device that acts upon the coated web as a last treatment before' it goes to the takeup roll;

Fig. 15 is a top plan view further enlarged of Vthe unit or mechanism of Fig. 14 partly broken away through the center and otherwise;

Fig. 16 is a detail on a small scale showing a top plan view outline of the bed incorporated in the unit mechanism of Figs. 14 and 15;

Fig. 17 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially on the line ITI-Il of Fig. 14 looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig, 18 is a similarly enlarged section taken on the line |8-l8 of Fig. 14 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

It will be assumed for the purposes of explaining the illustrated embodiment of the invention that this machine is utilized for the specific function of applying to a web of paper tissue a wax and carbon coating as irl/the manufacture of typewriter or manifolding carbon paper. The mixture of wax and pigment such as carbon particles held in suspension has its desired viscosity at the point ofapplication controlled largely by temperature and after application the coating is cooled or set on the body or carrying web and with certain other intermediate treatments finally ywound upon a take-up roll that finished bulk product.

To rst give a general idea of the course of treatment of the web itself in its passage through the machine, we have prepared Fig. 2 of the drawings and now make particular reference thereto, it first being explained that the elevation of this constitutes the 1 roll spindle 4 on which is wound a given supply of paper P, the course of which therefrom is shown in' dot and dash lines. From the mill roll the web proceeds forwardly (and thereafter as indicated by the arrows) under and over guide rolls 5 and 6, respectively, and thence upwardly and rearwardly around a hollow preliminary heating roll 1 having suitable piping connections 8 for hot water or steam. This last is what we call generally station A for the treatment of the web preparatory to receiving 'its coating. Such station includes a brushing and stretching unit that traverses the web as held against the roll 1 transversely from the center Ain opposite directions toward both lateral edges. It has a multiple function. It cleans the paper by removing lint or free paper fibers; it stretche the paper laterally to the fullest degree and it insures intimate contactl thereof with the surface of such preliminary heating roll 1.

From the latter roll and station A the web proceeds rearwardly, preferably at the upward incline shown, and almost immediately passes through station B. This station includes a dope box or source of supply of the viscous liquid that constitutes the coating and also particular means concerned with this inventionfor effecting proper application of the dope to the surface.- i

In rear of station B is embossing station C where the freshly coated web passes between suitable rolls 9 and I0 for impressing thereon if desired figures or markings in the nature of water marks as used in general paper manufacture.

insuring its evenness for uniform results 'in manifolding use and to make sure that no wrinkles exist therein. Thereafter the web passes over guide roller I8 to the final station H at the rear of the machine where it is accumulated in a winding roll I9 supported by a mandrel 20 in suitable bearing blocks 2I on the frame I.

It is not essential to this invention but, in order to interpose a protective covering over the coated surface in its tightly wound convolutions in roll I9, we provide a mill roll of tissue I on a mandrel 22 in journal blocks 23 at-the top rear of the machine, which tissue web, indicated at T, is drawn oif downwardly onto the roll I9 coincidentally with the web P, as indicated.

It will be next convenient to describe the general driving set-up whereby power is communicated to most of the instrumentalities located at the various stations that have been outlined. For this pul'pOse, reference is to be had mainly to Fig. 1 but in conjunction with the more diagrammatic outline of Fig. 2 just traversed. The main drive shaft 24 through a pinion 25 drives a gear 26 on a driven shaft 21 provided with a sprocket 28. This sprocket is the prime mover of a relatively long sprocket chain 29. Such chain carries first over a jockey 'sprocket 30a having adjustment for tightening the chain to a sprocket 30 on the preliminary heating roll 1,- thence rearwardly and downwardly around a sprocket 3| on roll I5, thence upwardly and rearwardly over a sprocket 32 onroll I3 and finally downwardly and forwardly over idler sprocket 32a to the first mentioned driving and driven elements.

There are oisheets of this main line of driving power communication. The shaft' of roll I3 at station E is provided with another sprocket 33 through which a chain 34 drives through a sprocket 35 with a tension adjusting jockey 35a the lower roll I0 atthe embossing station C. Another sprocket on the shaft I5 at station F carries a chain 36 travelling over a sprocket 31 on the shaft 20 of the take-up roll at station H to drive the latter. Also, as the main driving chain then existing conditions of operation it might be another heating station. 'Ihis is immaterial, however, as the element consists essentially of a hollow roll I3 like roll 1 and similarly provided with intake and exhaust water or steam fittings From station E, after passing around and below it, the coated web P continues `forwardly as indicated around another coolingroll I5 constituting station F which roll is fitted at I6 like stations A and E and here the final cooling and setting is accomplished. From thence it passes rearwardly again over a guide roll I1 through a final treat. ment station marked G. It will be noted by tracing the web that at this point the coated side is uppermost and the function of the unit here located is to again stretch the web transversely from the center toward both lateral margins;

29 passes from the sprocket 30 on the roll 1 of station A to the sprocket 3| on roll I5 of station F, it meshes with and drives a spur sprocket 38 on a stud shaft 39 for the purpose of activating the web brushing mechanism of station A in a manner to be described.

For a detailed description of this station A mechanism, reference will next be had to Figs.

3 to 8. Spanning the machine at the front bey tween the side plates of the main frame I is a subsidiary frame 40. It comprises and supports front and rear vertically disposed plates 4I and 42 that are rigid with respect to tha-t frame and consist of alined central columns 4Ia and 42a. At each end thereof, the subsidiary frame 4II carries brackets and suitable bearings 65a in the two brackets support shafts 43 'and 44` in" pairs, which in turn carry pairs of pulleys 45 and 46 that support belts 41 and 48 that run transy versely of the paper web P in opposite directions from the -center toward the opposite margins of such web beneath the roll v1 of station A. The Ybelts 41---48 are furnished with brush blocks 49 ,as flexible units capable of passing over the pulleys aforesaid. vThe 'axes of the shafts 43 and 4 4'are arranged in a parallelogram as viewed ,from the front of the machine so that from that aspect the belts 41 Aand 48 intersect or cross each other. Nevertheless, the upper burnish the coated surface to a high gloss while 75 reaches 50 and5I of the belts travel asindicated stood, compensating for the consequent changes bythe arrows inoppcslte directions in parallelism to a longitudinal .tangential line on the circumference of roll l from which line they are offset from front to rear of the machine. This is because front and rear plates 4l and 42 (Fig. 7 particularly) have top anges 52 tted-withl rails 53 that support and guide these upper reaches of the brush belts.

The purpose of all this, as previously indicated, is that as the paper web P comes onto the hot heat adjusted roll i of station A, it is (from un:

demeath with respect to this roll) thoroughly brushed and stretched laterally, its surface being glossed and denuded ci free fibers and it being presented for treatment 'in the course of its fur.- ther progress in a thoroughly iiat and unwrinkled condition.

To regulate .this b contact, that is the 'intensity of the pressure against the web and roll l, a ement is made whereby the subsidlary frame ril-d2 with the belts and the shafts and bearings therefor carried by such frames maybe raised and lowered on the main frame l. For this purpose, the bearing brackets te on frame t@ (Figs, 3 and 6) are providedwith lateral lugs et in which are nxed depending rack pins 5t. The teeth on these rack pins are engaged byteetht cut in a transversely extending shaft, 5l having bearings inbrackets Sie supported on the main frame l and in which brackets the said rack pins are guided for vertical movement. A crank (not shown) is applied to this shaft to turn it and raise and lower the said unit at station n through the mesh with the rack pins and in its set position it is secured by a split friction brake indicated generally at 58 in Fig. l that is tightened against the shaft.

Aside from the raising and lowering ofthe subsidiary frames tt-dt-d, the brushing pressure and general travel of the belts el and it is dependent to some extent upon the tension of the belts themselves. To regulate this, the centrai standard portions of the plates fil and t2 are provided with slots et and t@` (Fig. 'il in l which slide the ends oi studs tl and t2 on which turn jockeys or idlers t3. l"Ihese studs may be appropriately positioned and secured in their driven in unison. The endsy of the said lower shafts are provided with bevel gears te meshing with bevelled pinions e@ (Fig. 6) on a transverse shaft it. This shaft oats with the subsidiary frame ti, being supported in bearings ita on arms b extending rearwardly from brackets tt.

Referring now again to Fig. l, shaft l@ carries a sprocket it over which runs a sprocket chain) l2 that connects it with'spur sprocket tt previously described, which spur sprocket meshes with main driving chain 2S. This spur sprocket 36 is mounted on an arm 38a having a segment 33h meshing with a hand adjusting work ttc so that in the raising and lowering of the brushing devices o this station A the proper driving tension and contact may be maintained with rein the turning axes of the sprocket gears.

It will be noted that the whole mechanism of this brushing device als-station A is mounted on and carried by the brackets 51a at the front ofthe machine, 'is not otherwise connectedl to the main frame I and can be applied lor removed as a unit. It can be individually assembled complete and the machine as a wholecan be sold with or without this attachment on the preference of the purchaser.

The web having thusbeen brushed iree of surface iibers at station A and preliminarily heated by roll' l of that station, it is in condition to proceed to station B and receive on its upper side the coating of hot wax or'other dope, the web .proceeding forwardly and then rearwardly around this roll l. l,

Station B in the present embodiment consists of devices best shown in Figs. 9 to 13l and, of course, in general in Figs. l and 2. Mounted on top ci' frame i? in rear ofroll l to extend transversely from; side 'so side is ahot table 13 (Figs. 1 and l0), the surface thereof being preferably slightly upwardly inclined in the drection'of travel. The table is in the form 'of a cored box 'lil having suitable steam or hot water circulation openings, as indicated at l5, communicating with `the interior chest shown broken away at l5.

Within the box 'It adjacent to the chest is -a Vcylindrical cavity li running longitudinally 'thereof from side to side of the machine andV transversely to the path of the web. It com` it intersects the same through a narrow longitudinal opening 'i8 providing a slot or mouth clearly shown in Fig. 9.

mensen within the cavity 'n is a flemme 'pneumatic tube orbag l@ extending from end to end. It is preferably of soft rubber. It is detachable, that is, it can be drawn oui-,longitudinally when deflated and it is nued'with air at a controlled pressure. We have shown in the present instance as a means for innating and regulating the pressure a conventional hand pump @t mounted on the side of the frame l (Fig. 1) andr connected to the bag by a tube ti. When the bag is pumped up to the proper extent itwill protrude slightly through the opening '18 and present its surface to a desired degree above the plane or the surface of table "it, The web P travels lightly over this soft protrusion or air cushion and at that exact point rst cornes in contact with the is to provide the coating.

The dope supply is carried in an elongated tank d2 jacketed at 83 lfor heating by lwater or 5 steam from a suitable controlled source. It

*l spans the frame i, being supported' at each side by brackets @d upon which it slides up 'and down in suitable guides. It carries racks et indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 that mesh with pinions Bt'on hand shaft 8l running through the brackets t@ so that the tank and its equipment can be' raised and lowered at will and carried @ward and from the travelling. web. Depending from the 4. underside of the tank is a forwardly inclined plate tt secured to its bottom by screws t9. Extending through said bottom and communicating with the interior are a plurality of discharge or f spect to both chains l2 and 29, as will be under i5 the inclinedplate 85 over which itv flows in a liquid dope that down the edges to the 'properl width because the coating devices would not carry the coating to the very edges with any uniformity. `'.ll'he result cut-off valves 9| having flngerpieces 92 and arranged so that their rear ends between stops 93 and 94'may slide across the drain openings Partially or totally selectivelyv closing them. To insure a close sealing contact, the discharge ends are provided with projecting collars 95 and the .pivots 984 of thevalves or'shut-oifs 9| are provided with thick rubber washers l91 that maintain the' contact under yielding pressure.

Supported in bearings in suitable lateral end extensions of the plate 88 is a relatively small rotary equalizer shaft 98. It consists of a rod or bar on which has been tightly wound in adjacent helical convolutlons a wire 99, as appears in Figs. 10 and 1l. The rod or .shaft projects beyond the bracket 84 at the right or driving side of the machine where it carries a pulley whereby the shaft is driven through a belt |0| passing thereover to a pulley |02 on the shaft of cooling roll I at station F. An intermediate jockey pulley |03 on an arm pivoted at |04 regulates the tension through a worm and segment adjusting mechanism indicated generally at |05.

The equalizer shaft 98 is below and closely adjacentto the lower end of the inclined plate 88 to receive the film of dope therefrom, rotates in a counterclockwise direction in Figs. l and 10, that is, it travels with instead of against the surface of the Web and it registers with the opening 18 in the table 13. Behind it is a, supporting blade |96 `secured to the plate 88 at |01, which blade, as

shown, in connection with the lower edge of plate 88, forms a sort of pocket for the equalizer. The equalizer is so long and of such relatively small diameter that it would otherwise be apt to bend or give and the function of this blade |06 is to counteract that tendency and hold it to its axis.

As previously described, the pneumatic bag 19 provides a, soft protruding ridge through the table opening 18 against which the web travels. The elevation of the dope pan mechanism "carrying the equalizer 98 is so regulated lon the oneface may be said to press the web up gently into uniform contact from side to side with the dope covered surface of the equalizer 98. At any rate, the equalizerand the supporting blade |06 and associated parts form a wave of dope descending from plate 88 onto the web that isspread by the rotation of the spiral surface of the equalizer so that it forms a perfectly even and continuous coating of uniform. thickness and quality. Any small lumps or other impurities that ineviof this was* of course, aloss in material and labor. With the present inventionthe bag 19 or pneumatic support-for the web at the coating point being longer than theweb, it presses it against the equalizer to the very edges of the margins as we have attempted to show in Fig. 11. To put it another way, the web P is, at the point of application. imbedded in the soft under support between it and the periphery of the equalizer against which it is pressed.

The wax and carbon dope of the present embodiment of the invention is particularly sensitive to heat in the matter of its viscosity and spreading capabilities.- With the structure described, a function of the heated table 13 is to maintain the dope in that region and at the point of application at the same temperature that it leaves the feed tank even though in the meantime it has passed as a film over plate 88. By so regulating the heat above and the heat below together with adjustment of the shut-oif valves 2|, the iiow can be nicely proportioned to the speed and absorptive qualities of the particular web.

The coated web now travels rearwardly with the coating unset to next meet the embossing station C which has already been adequately described so far as the present invention is concerned. The mechanism shown generally at |08 in Fig. 1 is obviously for the purpose of regulating the pressure between the rolls 9and I0. The same may be said of station D where the heat radiationvupon the web is regulated during the setting of the dope while the functions of stations E and F were covered in the introductory outline.

Beyond station F the web travels rearwardly toward winding station H with its coated side uppermost, the same having been cooled and set. However, we interpose at this point, as previously indicated, the smothing and burnishing station G that greatly improves the quality of the surface and insures an unwrinkled uniform winding on the roll |9. 'I'his burnisbing station is a selfcontained unit, as is station A, and operates in a similar manner to some extent but, because of tably occasionally find their way into the dope are taken care of by the cushion which simply yields t0 them and lets them pass on to. constitute a purely localized blemish whereas in other types of applicators vsuch bodies are apt to be caught and cause streaks for long distances on the coating before they are discovered.

` At this point, an important function and advantage of they pneumatic contact from beneath the change in progress of the coating operating at this p oint and for other structural reasons, we provide a different arrangement shown in detail in Figs. 14 to 18 inclusive. Here, instead of guiding the burnishing belts in the plane of the paper, we guide the paper to the planes of the burnishing belts. Y

Immediately in rear of the roll l5 is a table. |09 of the general plan shown in miniature in- Fig. 16 and of suilicient width to support the whole web from edge to edge in intimate contact therewith and over this table the coated and cooled web next passes, the front andA rear edges of the table being provided with rounded or cam lips |||I. The table is supported between I posts hi rising poses previously announced.

from the separate brackets andv l2, In the same posts are bearings for a transverse shaft having pinions Il@ meshing with the said rack bars respectively. An end oi shaft ||5 projects from thev right side of the machine, as shown at H1, and is squared to receive a hand ycrank Awhereby the rotation of the shaft to the. right through the rack bars raises the table and lowers it on the reverse.

At this point it may be pointed out that this adjusting shaft H5 is also tted with a detachable hand clamp-ed friction lock H like the loclr 58 previously described in connection with the elevating mechanism at station A and other brake type locks indicated at lis are similarly used on other adjusting shafts hereinafter described to hold them in set position, but these with driving pulleys i3d. .at the left side'oi the machine (appearing at the right in le.) outside bracket |311 on the frame i supports a motor |38 having a pulley it@ on each endoi its shaft over which runs a drive belt4 it@ that goes to one of the pulleys i3d. All oi these cys have the same pitch diameter so that both the driving belts and both the burnishin be driven in exactly the same way at the same speed. These driving belts pass from the motor across to the more remote pairs oi p two, belts for obvious mechanical reasons.

Attention is called to the fact that as so cena structed the .brush mechanism of station G "1i" that of station A is self-contained and constitutes an individual unit readily applied to and are known mechanical elements and they will l not be again referred to specincally.

In general, it is desired to raise the web over guide rolls l1 previously described and thence over table |09, guide roll I8 and downwardly again toward the winding roll I9 at station H but the elevating and depressing mechanism for the table with which we are now concerned in the description is more particularly for the purpose of regulating its contact with the brushing and burnishingdevices about to be described.

These burnishing and smoothing devices consist of companion belts |20 and B2i, the lower reaches of which run closely parallel but are crossed, as shown in Fig. 14, and travel in opposite directions. T'he table is also rounded on a longitudinal axis, that is, it dips downwardly from the raised center toward each side of the nain frame. Both belt reaches contact it '(,or the web is travelling on it) at or near its center so that one belt progresses downwardly in one direction toward one edge of the web and the other opporsitely, the two belts together smoothing and stretching the web from its center for the pur- 1 The belts are ilexible belts covered with a soft material such as wool that will effect this spreading and stretching action but will not injure theA coating but improve its surface.

l The belts and |2`| are mounted, as will now be described. so that they may also be raised and lowered with reference tothe table and also so that the tension on each may be independently controlled, all to eiect the proper brushing contact. Except for the crossed relationship and the elevation of the'live land dead pulleys, which are of course reversed, the two belt systems are identical, so they can be described together with the same` reference numerals.

Also xed on the brackets iii and iii on opposite sides of the posts lili are similar posts |22 and E23 with bearings for short hand crank. elevating shafts |26 and |25. These shafts carry gears |26 meshing with the teeth o rack bar stems |21 carrying yokes |28 and |29 supporting pulleys `|30 over which the burnishing belts run in the two sides of the machine. The yokes i2@ are pivoted on their stems by wrist pins G3i and have pivoted thereto at |32 (Fig. la) screws ist provided with operating and locking thumb nuts :machine may or may removed from the machine and with which the not be equipped at the option of the purchaser or according to the na= ture of the work in hand, as in the application oi coatings oi some descriptions which ht not be necessary or desirable. The brackets Eiland ||2 carrying this unit are separate from the main frame, as shown and described, and attached parts arranged outside of the main frame are of a detachable nature.

The prevention of wrinkling of the coated web as it passes onto the winding roll is a more important function of burnishing, and still another important function thereof resides in the eect that-the belts have on the structure of the coating itself. The grain of the paper runs longitudinally and the grain o the coating', :because or the nature of the application, runs longitud' ally also upto this point.

However, the belts reverse the grain of the coat ing, that is, dispose it transversely and homogenize the body thereof so that there are no ntie longitudinal lines remaining as in most carbon papers. vIn fact, these belts actually stretch the coating laterally so that a surface tension that would otherwise sides toward the center is destroyed and the tendency of the paper to similarly curl from the sides inwardly because oi its` longitudinal grain is thereby counteracted. The result isv that when ythe carbon paper is removed from the roll and cut into sheets it lies nat or curls less readily than would otherwise be the case.

The remainder of the progress of the web and its ilnal disposition have been previously dei scribed.`

llt will be understood that in an organized machine of this general nature, the character ci' the 53N that react against the frame pieces i on opposite sides.

Thus it will be seen that by a handl adjustment of these screws on the movable yoke web being coated and the nature or the coating applied thereto may require obvious modication of the treatments above described. vSuch descrip- .tion had in mind the coating oi a tissue paper web with carbon wax, but auchy departures will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art tion.

We claim as our invention:

`l. In a'web coating machine of the character described, the combination with a main frame carrying a plurality of devices fordriving, guiding and supporting a travelling web, of 'a preliminary heating station for the web embodying a heat controllable roll over which it is guided,

a subsidiary frame on ythe main frame adjacent l y toy said roll having two tracks offset from each the right other side by side and each comprising an up= wardly inclined portion meeting that of the other at the longitudinal center of the roll, two brush belts running in the tracks in opposte directions cys ci the y this station G than the mere tend to make it curl from the the spirit o the inven- 6 on the longitudinal center of the roll toward the margins of the web for smoothing the web laterally while on the roll said brushes initially contacting the roll at the same circumferential line,

and means for thereafterf'fdepositing a coating of the latterfrom the center outwardly, said belts` being otherwise in crossed relationship with each other and the said under reaches being at the angles of and inclined along the slopes of the table to press the web against the latter.

3. In aweb coating machine, the-combination with a main frame carrying a plurality of y devices for driving, guiding and supporting a travelling web, o'f a device for spreading dope on the web, means for Supplying dope to said device, a cooling roll, winding means, and brushing means arranged between said last two mentioned means for smoothing and burnishing the coated web from its center toward its opposite sides, said brushing means being detachable and replaceable as a unit on the frame of the machine.

4. In a web coating machine, the combination with a main frame carrying a plurality of devices for driving, guiding and supporting a travelling web including a table over which the web passes, said table having a raised-central portion and being inclined downwardly therefrom in both directions toward the lateral margins of the web, of l-two brushing belts having parallel reaches running in opposite directions and crossed with respect to each other, said reaches respectively-engaging against the two inclines to burnish and stretch the web from its center toward itsy margins, and means'for driving the belts.

5. In a web coating machine, the combination with a main frame carrying a plurality of devices for driving, guiding and supporting a travel. ling web including a table over which the web passes, said table having a raised central portion and being inclined downwardly therefrom in both directions toward the lateral margins of the web, of two brushing belts having parallel reaches running in opposite directions and crossed with respect to each other, said reaches respectively engaging against the two inclines to burnish and stretch the web from its center toward itsv margins, means for raising and lowering the table toward and from the belts, and means for driving the latter.

6. In a web coating machine, the combination with a main frame carrying a plurality of devices for driving, guiding and supporting a travelling web including a table over which the web passes, said table having a raised central portion and being inclined downwardly therefrom in both directions toward the lateral margins of the web, of -two brushing belts having parallel reaches running in opposite directions and crossed with respect to each other, said reaches respectively engaging against the two inclines to burnish and stretch the web from its center toward its margins, means for driving the belts including a pair of pulleys for each, and means for lowering and raising the pulleys toward and from the table.

7. In a web coating machine, the Acombination with a main frame carrying a plurality of devices for driving, guiding and supporting a travelling web including a table over which the web passes, said table having a raised central portion and being inclined downwardly therefrom in both directions toward the lateral margins of the web, of two brushing belts having parallel reaches running in opposite directions and crossed with respect to each other, said reaches respectively engaging against the two inclines to burnish and stretch the web from its center toward its margins, means for driving the belts including a pair of pulleys for each arranged at opposite sides of frame, one pulley of each pair being mounted upon a, pivoted yoke, and means on the frame for rocking said' pivoted pulleys to tighten or loosen the belts.

8.' In a web coatingmachine, the combination with web supporting, feeding and guiding means including a. table over which the web passes, said table embodying an elongated slot extending transversely of the path of the web, of

means for applying dope to the web including an equalizer rod for spreading the same arranged above the slot, and an air inflated flexible tube beneath the table arranged to protrude through the slot and press the device.

9. In a web coating machine, the combination with a web supporting, feeding and guiding means including a steam chest, the top of which constitutes a table over which the web is passed,

said chest being provided with a cavity and theI table Abeing provided with a slot communicating with the cavity and extending transverselyof the path of the web, of an elongated dope spreading device arranged above the table in register with the slot, means for supplying dope thereto, and a liexible pneumatic tube arranged in the cavity in the chest and adapted to protrude through the slot in the table to press the web against the spreading device.

10. In la, web coating machine, the combination with lweb supporting, feeding and guiding means, ofmeans for depositing dope upon the web embodying a plate down which a film of dope may dow, an equalizer rod under` the lower edge of the plate for spreading the dope on the surface of the web, and a supporting blade carried by the plate in rear of the rodY and having its edge projecting forwardly'beneath the rearward overhanging :curvature of rod.v

e CHARLES W. MAYER..

WALTER LUEDERS. RALPH J. CONSLER.

web against the spreading

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