Coating apparatus – Solid applicator contacting work – Movably mounted applicator
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-19
2001-04-24
Crispino, Richard (Department: 1734)
Coating apparatus
Solid applicator contacting work
Movably mounted applicator
C118S247000, C118S249000, C118S263000, C118S261000, C427S428010, C156S446000, C156S539000, C156S578000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06221158
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with tapes such as header tapes for a curtain or the like, and more particularly it relates to an apparatus for coating the header tape and a method for coating the header tape.
2. Description of the Related Art
Header tapes are attached to the upper ends of a curtain, or other hanging material, to receive hooks for hanging the curtain and to form pleats in the curtain or gather it.
The curtain header tape which the present invention is concerned with uses a hook and loop fastener system to affix the curtain in position on a rail. The header tape is provided with a loop type fastener for engaging with a hook type fastener located on, for example, a curtain hook.
Hook and loop fastener have been used in systems for hanging curtains. In one such system, described in EP-A-612 493, a strip of loop material is attached to the top of the curtain. The curtain hooks, for hanging the curtain from a rail, have a plate-like surface with hooks molded on it for engagement with the loops of the header tape. These systems are particularly useful for industrial purposes where curtains are to be removed frequently or with the minimum of effort.
However, the problem with using such loop material is that the loops need to be fixed into the header tape so that they do not pull out during continual use. A solution to this problem is to coat the side of the header tape opposite to the looped side with an adhesive which will secure the loops on place so as to stabilize the looped surface. This has the problem that it makes the header tape very stiff and makes it very hard to gather or pleat the header tape and hence the curtain if the user so wishes.
A solution to this is that since the loop material is restricted to be provided in certain discrete spaced apart regions of the header tape, these regions are coated with adhesive. Such a header tape is awkward to manufacture because of the difficulty in selecting to coat only the loop regions in the coating operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, in a first aspect the present invention is concerned with an apparatus for intermittently coating a header tape as described above.
According to a first aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for intermittently coating a header tape, comprising a coating roller for coating the header tape, a press roller for pressing the header tape against the coating roller and tension means for keeping the header tape under tension against the press roller. In the apparatus, the header tape to be coated has engaging means composed of a plurality of engaging elements for a hook and loop fastener woven into the tape, the plurality of engaging elements being provided in discrete spaced apart engaging regions, such that the engaging regions are thicker than the plane of the tape, and the press roller is positioned relative to the coating roller such that the coating roller only coats the thicker regions of the header tape.
The present invention therefore, relies on variations in the thickness of the header tape due to the engaging regions to ensure that only the back of the engaging regions are coated leaving the rest of the header tape where the header tape is not coated to move freely, and it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for coordinating the coating operation with the detection of the engaging regions.
Therefore, in a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for intermittently coating a surface of a header tape which has a variation in thickness in the plane of the header tape. The method comprises the steps of: coating a coating roller with a liquid; passing the header tape between a press roller and a coating roller, wherein the distance between the press roller and the coating roller is such that only the thicker regions of the header tape contact the coating liquid; and maintaining tension of the header tape so that the header tape is kept to be under tension as it passes over the press roller.
As mentioned above, it may be preferable to hang the curtain in a shape of pleats or gathers. This is achieved by a pull cord or cords which run through the length of the header tape and, with the header tape attached to a curtain, the pull cords are pulled through from one end of the header tape to bunch up the body of the header tape to have pleats or gathers in the header tape and the curtain.
This presents a problem in the manufacture of header tapes where a coating needs to be applied to the tape to stop the engaging elements being pulled out as there is a chance that the adhesive coating will stick to the pull cord and impair its performance. Therefore, it is preferable that the press roller of the apparatus in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention is provided with grooves such that when the header tape is fed over the press roller under tension, the pull cord fits into the groove and is thus not coated with the coating.
Similarly, it is preferred in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention if the method further comprises a step of placing the header tape under tension so that the pull cord embeds itself into a groove provided on the press roller.
A third aspect of the invention provides a method of coating a header tape, the header tape having regions of increased thickness along its length. The method comprises the steps of: passing the header tape through a gap formed by two spaced apart surfaces; providing a coating material at one of the surfaces; holding the header tape against the other surface and controlling the gap so that the header tape extends around the gap to contact the coating material only at the thicker regions of the header tape.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3830199 (1974-08-01), Saito et al.
patent: 3926148 (1975-12-01), Honsel
patent: 3991708 (1976-11-01), Huebschmann et al.
patent: 4082059 (1978-04-01), McIntyre et al.
patent: 4277301 (1981-07-01), McIntyre et al.
patent: 5523122 (1996-06-01), Harada et al.
patent: 5582868 (1996-12-01), Harada et al.
patent: 0 222 594 A2 (1987-05-01), None
patent: 672952 (1952-05-01), None
Crispino Richard
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Lorengo J. A.
YKK Corporation
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