Device and method for forming a microstructured coating on a substrate such as an aircraft element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9227219-B2
Application number	US-201313845456-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2013
Priority date	Mar 23, 2012
Publication date	Jan 5, 2016
Grant date	Jan 5, 2016

Abstract

A device for forming a microstructured coating on a substrate. The device includes a microstructured band that can be moved by rolling without slipping on the substrate and going around main pressure application elements assembled on a chassis, and secondary pressure application elements assembled on the chassis so as to be in contact with an inner face of the band in a zone of a strand of the band delimited by said main pressure application elements, this zone being exposed to the action of a curing apparatus that accelerates curing of a curable material designed to form said coating. A method for forming a microstructured coating using the above-mentioned device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for forming a microstructured coating on a surface of a substrate, comprising:
a chassis;
two main pressure application elements supported on the chassis and at a distance from each other;
a band, one face of which, hereinafter referred to as the inner face, is applied onto said main pressure application elements such that these elements delimit a strand of the band between them, hereinafter referred to as the application strand, designed for application of a curable material on the substrate that will form said coating after curing, the other face of the band, referred to as the outer face, having microstructures forming the negative of the microstructures of the coating to be formed;
a curing apparatus operable to accelerate curing of the curable material, arranged to act in a predetermined region of said application strand, hereinafter referred to as the curing zone; and,
a plurality of secondary pressure application elements in contact with said inner face of the band in said curing zone of its application strand, wherein the secondary pressure application elements are arranged on at least one spindle of the chassis and wherein said secondary pressure application elements are biased by elastic elements towards the application strand and, wherein the secondary pressure application elements are arranged on the at least one spindle by a rotation spindle connected to the at least one spindle by a rod having a ring disposed about the at least one spindle.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the secondary pressure application elements are arranged on at least two spindles of the chassis.

3. The device according to claim 1 , in which said secondary pressure application elements are biased towards said application strand in a direction from the inner face towards the outer face of the strand.

4. The device according to claim 1 , in which said secondary pressure application elements comprise a plurality of rollers arranged in staggered transverse rows.

5. The device according to claim 4 , in which said secondary pressure application elements are arranged such that the secondary pressure application elements closest to each edge of said curing zone have at least one pressure application point on said application strand the at a distance from the corresponding edge of said curing zone that is less than 10% of the transverse extent of the band.

6. The device according to claim 4 , in which said secondary pressure application elements are arranged such that the secondary pressure application elements closest to each edge of said curing zone have at least one pressure application point on said application strand at a distance from the corresponding edge of said curing zone that is less than 5% of the transverse extent of the band.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein secondary pressure application elements are distributed along the at least one spindle, on both sides of the spindle.

8. The device according to claim 1 , in which each of said secondary pressure application elements is in the form of a roller assembled free to rotate relative to said chassis so as to roll without slipping when in contact with said band as said band moves on the substrate.

9. The device according to claim 1 , in which said curing apparatus comprises an ultraviolet radiation source assembled fixed relative to said chassis and configured to emit towards said application strand.

10. The device according to claim 9 , in which said secondary pressure application elements are assembled on said chassis with several components and said secondary pressure application elements and said components, are made from one or several material(s) at least partially transparent to the radiation emitted by said ultraviolet radiation source.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Sas

Inventors

• Lieutet Eric

Classifications

• B05D3/067 Primary

  Curing or cross-linking the coating · CPC title

• B64C2230/26

  by using rib lets or hydrophobic surfaces · CPC title

• B05D1/42

  by non-rotary members · CPC title

• B05D1/28 Primary

  performed by transfer from the surfaces of elements carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. brushes, pads, rollers · CPC title

• B29C35/0888

  using transparant moulds · CPC title