US2526991A

US2526991A - Film applicator

Info

Publication number: US2526991A
Application number: US780711A
Authority: US
Inventors: William H Biddle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-10-18
Filing date: 1947-10-18
Publication date: 1950-10-24
Anticipated expiration: 1967-10-24

Description

Oct. 24, 1950 w, BIDDLE 2,526,991

FILM APPLICATOR Filed Oct. 18, 1947 INVENTOR MmA/ /w/M 4/ ATTOEN 5 Patented Oct. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FILM APPLICATOB William H- Biddle, nc ver. ri sh. Qeliiiii ia.

Canada,

Application October 18, 1947, Serial No. 780,711

m- L, 9.1 39.) 1 2 This invention relates to improvements in film be used on a rigid surface, usually plate glass,

applicators. I

This device is designed to apply a thinfilm or coating of liquid or semi-liquid material, such as paint, varnish, lacquer and the like. The applicator is particularly designed for use in the paint industry in which it is necessary to compare the, color and opacity of one batch of. paint or the like with another. In order to do this, it is necessary to form a layer or film, of the two batches side by side in order that they may be tested and examined. It is essential that these films be of; uniform and predict-.

able thickness. Where two ormore films are tov be compared as to color, opacity and the like, it is essential that they be applied at the same time with exactly the same treatment on, the

same surface edge to edge in a straight line without merging.

As the colors and gloss of paints, lacquers and the like undergo progressive change during their drying periods, the importance of simultaneous: application is apparent. The characteristics of;

films has, been by brush or. by spray-gun and;

where an attempt has been made to produce a finite film thickness, it has usually; been done by. repeated weighing and brushing or, spraying until a calculated weight has been reached.- This method does not ensure uniform thickness over the whole area and it may be very inac curate due to the evaporationof volatile. solvent during. the time taken for application. Where: twoor' more films are to be applied for compariw son'it is practically impossible to satisfy the re quirements of simultaneous application, equal treatment and edge to edgemeeting in a straight line without merging.

Previous attempts to produce a device which, would give the above-mentioned -desirable re-. They,

sults have not been entirely successful. have, not been able to apply filrns edge toedge. ina straig ht linewithoutmerging and theymust outwardly at its edge.

which cannot be conveniently stored.

The present, invention may be used for apply ing films to rigid panels, as in the past, or to thin flexible sheets of material, such as paper, celluloid and the like. be applied simultaneously edge to edge in a straight line without merging in a quick and convenient manner.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear from the accompanying description With reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the film applicator,

Figure 2, is a longitudinal section taken through the applicator,

Figure 3 is an elevation, partly broken away, of a part of the invention which may be used by itself, and

Figure i is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I 0 is a, block preferably of rectangular form. This block has two or more hoppers l i arranged side by side at one edge thereof and opening Each hopper is sep arated from the adjacent hopper by a thin partition 12, the. lower edgev of which tapers downwardly to a very fine edge I3", see Figure 3. A transverse slot I5 is formedin the bottom of each hopper and the bottom [5 of the hopperslopes towards said slot, as clearly shown in: Figure, 2. The slots l5 of the hoppers are in: line with each other.

A vertical doctor blade 29 extends the com-- bined length of the slots and is spaced abovethe lower surface of the hoppers, as shown at 2 I.

As shown, thev slot of each hopper is preferably formedin the bottom thereof at its outer side in relation to. the block and the doctor blade is mounted on. the edge of the block so that it forms the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the slots thereof;

The blade may be. formed withelongated slots 23': through which set screws 24 extend. These screws maybe screwed into the block to hold the doctor blade in any adjusted position. With this. arrangement, the blade may be ad'- J'usted vertically in relation to the bottom of-the block at. the slots.

A- pressure area 30' is formed on the bottom of the block In along the inner side of the slots I5, see Figures 2 and 4. This pressure area extends. across the bottom of the block and, if de-- sired, extensions. 31 thereof maylie I parallel with:

. the hoppers H.

transmitted therethrough to said pressure area only.

The block in may be used by itself to form films of two or more different materials, the

block illustrated being adapted to form two films),

When used in this manner, it is preferable to*""' apply films to a panel formed of :rigid material,

such as plate glass. When the block restson the panel, the pressure area bears against said panel. The doctor blade 20 may be adjusted vertically to provide a space 33 below its loweredge of a desired thickness, which represents approximately double the thickness of the film to be applied. Then a small quantity of the two materials to be compared are placed separately in The material in the hoppers fills the slots l5 and rests on the panel. When the block is moved over the panel in the direction of arrow A in Figure 2, or as the'panel is moved in the direction of arrow B, the material tends to adhere to the panel and is drawn through the space beneath the doctor blade, at which time the upper surface of the material tends to adhere to the lower edge of the blade, thus shearing the material substantially midway between the blade edge and the panel. The thickness of the resulting films is equal to approximately half the depth of the space beneath the doctor blade. Films of the two materials are applied at exactly the same time and are exactly the same thickness. They are also side by side and the tapered lower edge of the partition i2 allows the two films to come into contact without actually merging with each other. Thus the color and density of the two materials may be accurately compared.

The block H3 may be used in conjunction with a base 38 having a fiat top and vertical walls 39 at the opposite sides thereof. In this form of the invention the block I0 is preferably provided with pins 40 projecting outwardly from its opposite ends adapted to fit into slots 4! formed in the walls 39. The slots 4| are designed to prevent the block from moving towards either edge of the base. If desired, suitable meansmay be provided for holding the pins in the slots, such as, for example, spring arms 42 pivotally mounted at 43 on the upper edges of the walls and adapted to be moved over the pins 40. When the block is resting on the base, it is preferable that the upper surfaces of the pins lie above the upper edges of the side walls in order that the spring arms 42 may exert a certain amountof. pressure downwardly on the arms.

This arrangement is particularly adapted for use with thin sheets of material 45, such as paper. The block l0 and its associated elements function as described above.

projecting outwardly beyond the edge of the base. Then the block is placed on the paper with its pins 40 resting in the slots 4| and the spring arms bearing down on said pins.

A piece of paper is laid over the base 38 between its side walls with one end When the materials to be compared are placed in the hoppers l I, the piece of paper 45 is drawn in the direction of the arrow B, at which time a thin film ofeachmaterial is formed on the paper. The pressure area 30 bears against the piece of paper or panel to retain it the predetermined distance from the lower edge of the doctor blade. Here again, the films are formed side by side without merging at the same time, and are of exactly the same thickness. The adjacent edges of the two films form astraight line, thus making it relatively easy to compare the two films in the usual manner. The sheets of material used in this example are relatively inexpensive and may easily and con- 'veniently be stored for future reference.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A film applicator comprising at least two hoppers arranged side by side, a thin partition 'between the hoppers, a narrow transverse slot ;in the bottom of each hopper at one edge thereof,

said slots being aligned with each other, and the bottoms of the hoppers sloping towards their respective slots, a vertical doctor blade extending the combined length of the slots and forming a wall for the hoppers, the lower edge of said blade being spaced above the lower surface of the hoppers, and means for vertically adjusting the doctor blade. I

2. A film applicator comprising a block, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block at one edge thereof and opening outwardly at said edge, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper at the edge of the block, said slots being aligned with each other, a thin partition between V the hoppers, said partition tapering down to a very fine edge between the slots, and a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the slots thereof.

3. A film applicator comprising a block, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block at one edge thereof and opening outwardly at said edge, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper at the edge of the block, said slots being aligned with each other, and the bottoms of the hoppers sloping towards their respective slots, a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the slots thereof, and means for vertically adjusting the doctor blade in relation to the slots.

4. A film applicator comprising a block, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block at one edge thereof and opening outwardly at said edge, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper at the edge of the block, said slots being aligned with each other, a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the outer side of the slots, and a pressure area formed on the bottom of the block along the inner side of the slots.

5. A device according to claim 4 in which the pressure area is a relatively narrow strip extending along the inner side of the slots and its lower surface is spaced below the bottom surface of the block.

6. A film applicator comprising a base, a block adapted to rest on the base, means for retaining the block in position on the base, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block at one edge thereof and opening outwardly at said edge, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper at the edge of the block, said slots being aligned with each other, and a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the slots thereof and terminating above the base.

7. A film applicator comprising a base, a block adapted to rest on the base, means for removably retaining the block in position on the base, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block at one edge thereof and opening outwardly at said edge, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper at the edge of the block, said slots being aligned with each other, a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the slots thereof and terminating above the base, and means for vertically adjusting the doctor blade.

8. A film applicator comprising a block, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper, said slots being aligned with each other, a vertical doctor blade mounted on the hoppers and forming a wall therefor with its lower edge in the slots thereof and terminating above the bottom of the block, and a fiat pressure area formed on and extending across the bottom of the block beneath the hoppers at the sides of the slots thereof remote from the blade, said pressure area being lower than any other part of the block.

9. A film applicator comprising a block, a flat pressure area formed on and extending across the bottom of the block adjacent one edge thereof, said pressure area being lower than any other part of the block, at least two hoppers formed h side by side in the block and opening outwardly at the edge thereof adjacent which the pressure area is located, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hop per between the pressure area and the block edge, said slots being aligned with each other, and a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the outer side of the slots and normally above the pressure area.

10. A film applicator as claimed in claim 9 in which the pressure area also extends along each side of the bottom of the block.

11. A film applicator comprising a base, a block adapted to rest on the base, means for retaining the block in position on the base, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block at one edge thereof and opening outwardly at said edge, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper at the edge of the block, said slots being aligned with each other, a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the outer side of the slots, and a flat pressure area formed on the bottom of the block along the inner side of the slots, said pressure area being lower than any other part of the block and adapted to rest on the base.

12. A film applicator comprising a base, a block adapted to rest on the base, means for retaining the block in position on the base, a fiat pressure area formed on and extending across the bottom of the block adjacent one edge thereof, said pressure area being the only part of the block engaging the base, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block and opening outwardly at the edge thereof adjacent which the pressure area is located, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper between the pressure area and the block edge, said slots being aligned with each other, and a doctor blade forming the outer wall of the hoppers with its lower edge at the outer side of the slots and normally above the pressure area and the base.

13. A film applicator comprising a base having a fiat top, vertical walls at the opposite sides of the base having slots therein, a block adapted to rest on the base between the side walls of the latter, pins projecting outwardly from the opp0- site ends of the block and fitting into the wall slots, a spring arm on each wall adapted to bear on the block pin in the slot of its wall, at least two hoppers formed side by side in the block, a thin partition between the hoppers, a transverse slot in the bottom of each hopper, said slots being aligned with each other, and'a vertical doctor blade mounted on the hoppers and forming a Wall therefor with its lower edge in the slots thereof and terminating above the bottom of the block and the base.

WILLIAM H. BIDDLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 418,058 Porter Dec. 24, 1889 964,133 Strehler July 12, 1910 50 1,669,166 Keller May 8, 1928 1,947,791 Moyer Feb. 20, 1934