Roll coating using metered coating roll including deformable layers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12330183-B2
Application number	US-202118259222-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2021
Priority date	Dec 30, 2020
Publication date	Jun 17, 2025
Grant date	Jun 17, 2025

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for roll coating are provided. The roll coating system ( 100 ) includes a coating roll ( 110 ) having a deformable inner layer ( 12 ) with a surface thereof covered by a deformable outer layer ( 14 ), the inner layer being softer than the outer layer. A substrate ( 3 ) is conveyed to the nip ( 12 ) between the coating roll and a back-up roll ( 120 ). A metered coating material is transferred from the coating roll to a patterned surface structure ( 40 ) of the substrate at the nip to form a conformal coating on the patterned structure of the substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of coating a patterned structure on a substrate, the method comprising:
providing a coating roll having a deformable inner layer with a surface thereof covered by a deformable outer layer, the inner layer being softer than the outer layer;
providing a back-up roll engaging the coating roll to form a nip therebetween;
providing a substrate to enter the nip and wrap around the back-up roll, the substrate comprising a patterned surface structure on a major surface facing the coating roll, the patterned surface structure including an array of structures having peaks projecting from a base plane of the substrate and troughs formed between the adjacent structures;
metering a coating material on the coating roll to be transferred to the major surface of the substrate at the nip, wherein metering the coating material comprises
providing a reverse metering roll to engage with the coating roll, the reverse metering roll and the coating roll spinning in the same direction, and
controlling an engagement depth between the coating roll and the reverse metering roll to adjust a coating weight of the coating material on the patterned surface structure;

transferring a coating material from the coating roll to the substrate at the nip to form a coating pattern covering the peaks of the patterned surface structure of the substrate, and
controlling an engagement depth between the coating roll and the back-up roll to control the conformability of the coating material to the peaks of the array of structures.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the array of structures has a characteristic height of 10 to 500 micrometers, and the coating material is coated conformal to the peaks of the structures.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the deformable inner layer of the coating roll has a hardness less than that of the deformable outer layer of the coating roll.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the deformable inner layer of the coating roll has a hardness less than 20 Shore A and wherein the deformable outer layer of the coating roll has a hardness greater than 50 Shore A.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner layer of the coating roll has a compressibility of less than 45 psi at 25% deflection and a Poisson's ratio of less than 0.3.

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Company

Inventors

• Reddy Kevin T
• Ciliske Scott L
• Dodds Shawn C
• Pekurovsky Mikhail L
• Meyers Kara A
• Dobbs James N
• Javid Samad
• Secor Robert B
• Farley Joseph B
• Swanson Ronald P
• Rattray Tyler J
• Gilman Ann M
• Mclean Angela S
• Mahler Thomas A
• Yang Yugeun P
• Cordes Paul J

Classifications

• B05C1/083

  being passed between the coating roller and one or more backing rollers · CPC title

• B05C1/0808

  Details thereof, e.g. surface characteristics · CPC title

• B05D1/40

  Distributing applied liquids or other fluent materials by members moving relatively to surface · CPC title

• B05C1/0834

  the coating roller co-operating with other rollers, e.g. dosing, transfer rollers · CPC title

• D21H23/58

  Details thereof, e.g. surface characteristics, peripheral speed · CPC title