Edward Arthur Reardon

US Patent:

6869484, Mar 22, 2005

Filed:

Sep 15, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/952881

Inventors:

Andrew T. Hunt - Atlanta GA, US
Wayne Neilson - Vista CA, US
Miodrag Oljaca - Avondale Estates GA, US
Edward J. Reardon - Laguna Niguel CA, US
James D. Huggins - Atlanta GA, US
David E. Bane - Lawrenceville GA, US
Ian H. Campbell - Moreland GA, US
Yibin Xue - Norcross GA, US

Assignee:

Shipley Company, L.L.C. - Marlborough MA

International Classification:

C23C016/00
C23C014/00

US Classification:

118718, 20429824

Abstract:

A continuous feed coater for coating a length of substrate with vaporized or sprayed material, is disclosed. A specific example is a roll-to-roll coater which includes two lower supply rollers for supporting two webs of uncoated material, and two upper take-up rollers for supporting the webs after they are coated. A central web-support forms a plenum that acts as a deposition chimney or chamber by bringing the two webs into close proximity to each other to form two large walls of the plenum. The ends of the webs are sealed using side dams to form the chimney with a rectangular cross section such that the vapor cannot exit from the edges of the material. The vaporized coating constituents to be deposited on the rolled material are directed into the deposition plenum from a coating material supply source located at the bottom of the plenum, and are exhausted through the top of the plenum. By providing a plenum having two large surface area walls formed of the material to be coated, an extremely efficient coating system is provided. The top of the plenum includes an exhaust system with an orifice plate with a plurality of orifices spaced across the width of the deposition plenum.