CLIAMS:WE CLAIM:
1) A point-of-use coating apparatus comprising:
a coating unit comprising of a coating roller and vertical blocks, said vertical blocks forming a seat for mounting a knife thereon to apply coating onto a substrate;
a drying unit placed downstream the coating unit, and comprising an insulated chamber for drying thereafter, the coating applied on the substrate;
a pressing unit comprising of a pair of pressing rolls for improved binding of the coating with the substrate;
said units being positioned sequentially in a line with respect to each other; and
a control unit for controlling operations of the coating, drying and the pressing unit .
2) The point-of-use apparatus of claim 1, wherein the point-of-use is a laboratory, industrial, pilot or commercial level.
3) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein a rubber nip roller is adapted to be disposed below the coating roller to pull the substrate from an unwind reel.
4) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein a sample holder is arranged to be held above the coating roll to keep the coating formulation on the substrate.
5) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the knife comprises of a blade, wherein the knife selected for coating is based on type of application, wherein the application is either a knife on air application or a knife on roll application.
6) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coating roller is made up of hard chrome platted mild steel.
7) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the blade used for knife on air application possesses sharp edge at the bottom, and is arranged vertically above the coating roll at an adjustable distance.
8) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the blade used for knife on roll application possesses blunt edge at the bottom, and is held at 15° with the vertical.
9) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a preferably a textile.
10) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the insulated chamber comprises of a galvanized heater and a thermocouple, said combination being configured to maintain temperatures ranging preferably within 25°C to 200°C.
11) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drying unit further comprises of hot air blowers that are positioned axially to the drying unit for blowing hot air on top and bottom of the substrate.
12) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the pressing roll is coated with hard chrome plating and the other pressing roll is coated with rubber.
13) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 12, wherein the rubber coated roller is installed preferably over the hard chrome platted roller.
14) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pressing rolls are provided with a pressure gauge along with a regulator to maintain required binding pressure on the substrate applied with coating.
15) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 14, wherein the pressure is maintained approximately up to 7 kg-f/cm2
16) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein distance between the knife and the coating roll is adjustable, said adjustment being accomplished using a dial gauge.
17) The point-of-use coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control panel is operative to regulate rolling speed of the coating roller and the pressing rolls, and temperatures for the drying unit and the hot air blowers. ,TagSPECI:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
COATING APPARATUS

Applicant:
TATA Consultancy Services Limited
A company Incorporated in India under The Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
Nirmal Building, 9th Floor,
Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021,
Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method, and more particularly to a coating apparatus and a method for preparing a coated substrate in a single batch.
BACKGROUND
[002] For developing a composite fabric at various locations, such as laboratories, the usual steps involved are coating, drying and finally pressing to improve adhesion of coating. All the stated steps of coating, drying and pressing are generally performed separately. This increases the operation time, makes the process complex with more involvement of manual efforts thereby leading to less reproducibility due to unavoidable manual errors. In addition, for some applications, these three steps need to be executed in quick successions to avoid the coating formulation from drying up. Thus, there is a need to design and fabricate a compact coating unit with all these features arranged sequentially such that the entire assembly can be accommodated in the laboratory settings. The coating assembly should also have digital/mechanical control over each of its portion as opposed to the manual control that is most commonly observed in the existing lab coating machines.
[003] Various kinds of industrial knife coating machines are mentioned in different literature reports. However, for all the devices mentioned above, the coating processes are complex requiring several units arranged in series, which eventually occupies a lot of space. Such machines are thence not suitable for small/lab scale applications.
SUMMARY

[004] This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a coating apparatus that is capable of preparing coated composites in a single process, and the aspects are further described below in the detailed description. While the aspects of the present disclosure contemplates using the coating apparatus, as disclosed herein at the laboratory scale, the apparatus can nevertheless be employed at industrial or commercial scales, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure here-below. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[005] In one implementation, a point-of-use coating apparatus is provided that broadly comprises of the following units. Firstly, a coating unit that further comprises of a coating roller and vertical blocks, wherein the vertical blocks form a seat for mounting a knife thereon to apply coating onto a substrate. Here, the knife is selected based on the type of coating required i.e. either of knife on air or knife on roll application. Next in sequence is a drying unit that is placed downstream the coating unit, and comprises of an insulated chamber for drying the coating applied on the substrate. Further, the pressing unit comprises of a pair of pressing rolls for improved binding of the coating with the substrate. All the three coating, drying and pressing units are being positioned sequentially in a line with respect to each other. Additionally, the coating apparatus comprises of a control unit for controlling and monitoring the operations of the coating, drying and the pressing units.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[006] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings example constructions of the invention; however, the invention is not limited to the specific coating apparatus disclosed in the drawings. In the drawings, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawings in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.
[007] Figure 1 shows a top plan view of the coating apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[008] Figure 2 presents a side view of the coating apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[009] Figure 3 shows a front view and a side view of blade used for knife on air application, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0010] Figure 4 shows a front view and a side view of blade used for knife on roll application, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0011] Figure 5 shows a set-up for knife on air application.
[0012] Figure 6 shows a set-up for knife on roll application.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Some embodiments of this invention, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.
[0014] It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any systems and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present invention, the preferred, systems and methods are now described.
[0015] The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein, since such embodiments are intended as but single illustrations of one aspect of the invention and any functionally equivalent embodiments are within the scope of this invention. Thence, the embodiments though mention employing of the coating apparatus at laboratory settings, indeed, various modifications to the apparatus to employ at the progressive industrial level, in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description.
[0016] Broadly, the coating apparatus, disclosed herein, comprises of a coating unit, a drying unit and a pressing unit. The coating unit further comprises of a knife coater further comprising of knife, wherein said knife is selected based on the type of coating desired on the substrate. The drying unit comprises of a dryer with hot air blower, and the pressing unit comprises of a pair of pressing rolls, according to one general embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0017] In one embodiment, the presently disclosed subject matter is directed to a probable point-of-use apparatus for production of coated substrate on a laboratory scale, or commercial or industrial or pilot scale. The term “substrate” may be constructed of plastic, synthetic polymers or fabric, and may be of any size and shape known in the art. The substrate treated according to the practice of this invention may vary substantially as to conformation and the flexibility employed. Illustratively, the apparatus herein described utilizes a substrate preferably selected from a class of nylons, polyesters, polyamides or aramids.
[0018] The primary advantage of the coated substrates is that they can be used for protective applications, for example for prevention against lethal chemical warfare agents over an extended period of time and under extremes of environmental attrition not attainable heretofore. Furthermore, the present coating apparatus can be used for developing a polymeric film on a substrate and also, for preparing a sandwich structured composite (e.g. a composite comprising of a metallized polyester film with substrate).
[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, a coated substrate is automatically produced in a single batch process at a laboratory scale. The coating apparatus engaged for producing such a coated substrate can work efficiently in a laboratory environment without occupying much space with good control over each part of the apparatus. The coating apparatus is capable of laying a film-on substrate and even filling the pores of the substrate; drying it at desired temperature for a specified time and eventually pressing the substrate at a suitable pressure to improve the adhesion of coating. In addition, the coating apparatus, as described herein, is capable of monitoring and controlling various coating parameters while preparing the composite, not attainable by known coating apparatuses heretofore.
[0020] Referring now to Figure 1 & 2, a top view and the side view of the coating apparatus 10 is illustrated, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. In one embodiment, the invention contemplates a portable, point-of-use coating apparatus 10 and method of its use as described herein. In a preferred embodiment, the coating apparatus 10 comprising of a coating unit 20, a drying unit 30 and a pressing unit 40 are arranged sequentially in a single line to accelerate the process of substrate 50 coating.
COATING UNIT 20
[0021] Re-referring to Figure 1 & 2, the coating unit 20, comprises broadly, of a knife 22 and a coating roller 24. In one implementation, the knife 22 is mounted at an adjustable distance above the coating roller 24, wherein the distance between said knife 22 and the coating roller 24 may be adjusted using a dial gauge 26 (not shown in the drawings). The coating roller 24 is preferably made of hard-chrome platted mild steel. In an alternate embodiment, the coating unit 20 is provided with a holding member 28 for holding the mounted knives 22. The holding member 28 (not shown in drawings), may be vertical blocks provided with a knife holder to achieve said purpose. In one given embodiment, the vertical blocks with knife holder 28 enable mounting of knife 22 therein and rotating said knife 22 at desired angle while coating the substrate 50.
[0022] The preferred embodiments of the disclosed subject matter involve two kinds of set up for different kind of knife engaged for different application. The first set up may be for knife 22 (a) that is operable in a coating environment requiring filling the pores of the underlying substrate, henceforth referred to as a knife on air application. The alternate set up may be for knife 22 (b) that is operable in a coating environment requiring applying a film on the underlying substrate 50, henceforth referred to as a knife on roll application. The knives 22(a) and 22(b) involves specific kind of blades for knife on air and knife on roll applications, respectively.
[0023] As shown in Figure 3, the blade for knife on air application possesses sharp edge at the bottom. During coating application, the knife 22 (a) should be kept vertical, and preferably away from the coating roller 24. Also shown in Figure 5, the knife 22(a) is held in air so as to fill the pores of the substrate 50 with the coating formulation. This operation does not add to any thickness to the substrate 50, but improves its barrier properties and also, increases the weight of the coated composite.
[0024] Next, Figure 4 shows the layout of the blade used for knife on roll application. The blade for knife on roll application has blunt edge which should be kept at 150 with the vertical during the coating application, also shown in Figure 6. The blade is fixed just above the coating roller 24 to prepare a film of coating formulation on the substrate 50. This improves the barrier properties of the substrate 50 and adds to the overall weight and thickness of the coated composite.
[0025] Vertical blocks are provided with the knife holder 28 to mount both the knives 22(a) and 22(b) and allow them to rotate at desired angle. The gap between the knife 22 and coating roller 24 can be smoothly adjusted with the help of dial gauge to control thickness of the coating. The maximum width of the substrate 50 is limited by the width of coating roller 24 and the knives 22 (a) and 22(b); and a coated composite up to 300 mm width can be prepared by this kind of coating apparatus 10.
[0026] As can be seen from Figure 5 & 6, a pneumatically operated rubber nip roller is attached just below the coating roller 24 to pull the substrate 50 from unwind reel. A sample holder 52 is placed just above the coating roller 24 to keep the coating formulation on the substrate 50. The substrate 50 is held tightly by the coating roller 24 at one end and the pressing roller 40 at the other end. Both the rollers can be operated by gearbox and A.C. motor to move the substrate 50 at desired speed in the forward direction to have a uniform coating on the substrate 50.
DRYING UNIT (30)
[0027] The drying unit 30 is shaped like a rectangular box and is directly connected downstream to the coating unit 20. Two electric fin type galvanized heaters 32, as shown in Figure 1, are used to generate temperature within a range preferably varying from 250C to 2000C inside the dryer. The axial blowers 34 (not shown in the drawings), made of stainless steel, are employed to blow hot air through nozzles 36 on top and bottom of the substrate 50. This facility provides faster drying of the substrate 50 after coating. The insulation panel inside the drying unit 30 restricts heat loss and maintains uniform temperature throughout the dryer. A J type thermocouple 38 (not shown in the diagrams) is inserted into the hot air blower 34 section to maintain desired temperature with the help of a temperature controller, installed inside the control panel.
PRESSING UNIT (40)
[0028] The main frame of the pressing unit 40 is made of mild steel and connected with cross supports. The pressing unit 40 consists of a pair of pressing rolls 42 (a) and 42(b), wherein the pressing roll 42(a) is coated with hard chrome plating (diameter 87 mm) and fixed inside the frame of the pressing unit 40. It can be rotated by gearbox and A.C. motor, attached onto the frame. Another pneumatically operated rubber coated roller (diameter 75 mm) 42(b) is installed over the hard chrome platted roller. A pressure gauge along with a regulator is used to maintain desired pressure (up to 7 kg-f/cm2) on the coated substrate 50.

CONTROL UNIT
[0029] The control panel is fabricated out of M.S. sheet and is coated with powder. It consists of an A.C. variable drive for adjusting the speed of coating roller 24 and pressing rolls 42(a) and 42(b) with necessary switch gears. The temperature controller for the dryer and controller for the blowers 34 are also installed inside the control panel.
OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
[0030] In one implementation, a method for applying coating upon an underlying substrate 50 utilizing the coating apparatus 10 is disclosed. The substrate 50 is first cleaned thoroughly before applying coating thereon to remove dirt, grease or any other contaminants on its surface since the untreated substrate 50 may yield poor bonding between the substrate and the coating. The pretreated substrate 50 is then made to undergo the coating process on a single coating line.
[0031] In one general implementation, the substrate 50 is made to pass through the gap between rubber nip roller and coating roller 24 with knife 22 over its surface, in the coating unit 20. Next, in the drying unit 30 the substrate passes between top and bottom nozzles. Finally, in the pressing unit 40, the substrate is made to pass between hard chrome platted 42(a) and rubber coated rollers 42(b).
[0032] The substrate 50 may be mounted tightly with the coating rollers 24 and the pressing rolls 42. The angle of the knife 22, and the gap between the knife 22 and coating roller 24 can be variably adjusted using a dial gauge. It may be noted that for knife on air application, the blade should be kept vertical and placed away from the coating roller 24 (Figure 5). The lower edge of the blade must be kept just below the plane of the substrate 50. For knife on roll application, the blade should be kept at 150 with the vertical and it should preferably lie just above the coating roller 24 (Figure 6).
[0033] Next, the pressure on the pressing roll 42 should be set depending on the application requirement. The speed of the coating roller 24 and the pressing rolls 42 may be set after that. Preferably, maintaining the speed of pressing roll 42 higher than that of the coating roller 24 ensures that the substrate 50 is at tension in the coating line throughout the coating operation.
[0034] The drying/curing temperature inside the drying unit 30 can then be fixed with the temperature controller inside the control panel. The hot air blower 34, however, should not be put on at that time.
[0035] The coating apparatus 10 is now ready for coating development on the substrate 50. The coating formulation is fed to the substrate sample holder followed by rotation of the rolls in the forward direction. As a result, the substrate 50 is moved in the forward direction resulting into the formation of coating of desired thickness on the substrate 50. The coated composite is then sent inside the drying unit 30 and the hot air blower 34 is switched on. The hot air blow from top and bottom of the substrate 50 ensures faster drying of the coated composite. Finally, the hot composite is pressed using pressing rolls 40. For pasting a metallized film on the substrate 50, the film is passed along with the coated composite through pressing rolls 42.
[0036] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be used for preparing uniform coating of pastes, resins, silicones, adhesives, inks, polymers etc. on different types of substrates like textile fabric, cloth, paper etc. Significantly, the instrument is useful in preparing coated composites at laboratory scale or industrial scale. The disclosed coating apparatus can produce coated substrate in a single batch process, with sufficient control over each portion of the apparatus. The same coating line can be further used for laminating different sheets of material.