Abstract: A method and apparatus for premetered "patch" coating discrete, incremental surfaces or substrates, such as printed circuit boards, integrated circuits and the like, with a pre-configured layer of a liquid in which a controlled volume per unit area of the liquid is applied to the substrate are disclosed. The liquid is dispensed from an applicator slot that is fluidly coupled to a liquid containing chamber. The volume of the liquid in the liquid containing chamber is varied in order to (1) sharply and distinctly start the coating "patch" by producing a pulse of liquid that flows out of the applicator slot to form a connecting bead of liquid coating on the coating surface and (2) sharply and distinctly terminate the coating "patch" by removing the bead of liquid connecting the applicator slot with the coated surface. The width of the coated "patch" is determined by the length of the applicator slot.

Abstract: A method for temporarily sealing holes in a printed circuit board laminate during processing is disclosed. A sheet of deformable material is placed on one side of the PCB and then deformed so that the material extends into each hole to form a protectively sealing plug therein. Thereafter, the other side of the PCB is coated with a suitable resist for subsequent processing. The resist can be either photo-imagable or non-photo-imagable, such as silk screening inks, lacquers and varnishes. After conventional processing of the resist coated PCB, the deformed sheet material that forms the protectively sealing plugs is removed from the PCB. In the preferred embodiment, deformation of the sheet material is accomplished by thermally deforming a thermodeformable sheet material with a pressure differential applied across the thickness of the sheet material.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for temporarily sealing holes in printed circuit boards are disclosed. The apparatus comprises two major assemblies: a heater block assembly and a vacuum table assembly. The heater block assembly employs a temperature controlled, insulated heater block having a surrounding, movable vacuum collar. A flexible, thermally conductive vacuum skin is mounted on the movable vacuum collar and forms a vacuum chamber in cooperation with a movable vacuum table having a flat, thermally conductive porous plate whose upper surface is parallel to the vacuum table surface. A cooling block in contact with the thermally conductive porous plate cools the porous plate. A sandwich comprising a porous release sheet, the printed circuit board, a thermodeformable material and a thermally conductive cover sheet are positioned on the cooled porous plate. The vacuum table and sandwich are moved together so that the table forms a sealing relation with the flexible, thermally conductive vacuum skin.

Abstract: There are disclosed an apparatus and method of forming magnetic recording media having surfaces thereof replicated while being in the process of being cured.

Abstract: A method for temporarily sealing holes in a printed circuit board laminate during processing is disclosed. A sheet of deformable material is placed on one side of the PCB and then deformed so that the material extends into each hole to form a protectively sealing plug therein. Thereafter, the other side of the PCB is coated with a suitable resist for subsequent processing. The resist can be either photo-imagable or non-photo-imagable, such as silk screening inks, lacquers and varnishes. After conventional processing of the resist coated PCB, the deformed sheet material that forms the protectively sealing plugs is removed from the PCB. In the preferred embodiment, deformation of the sheet material is accomplished by thermally deforming a thermodeformable sheet material with a pressure differential applied across the thickness of the sheet material.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for temporarily sealing holes in printed circuit boards are disclosed. The apparatus comprises two major assemblies: a heater block assembly and a vacuum table assembly. The heater block assembly employs a temperature controlled, insulated heater block having a surrounding, movable vacuum collar. A flexible thermally conductive vacuum skin is mounted on the movable vacuum collar and forms a vacuum chamber in cooperation with a movable vacuum table having a flat, porous plate whose upper surface is parallel to the vacuum table surface. A sandwich comprising a porous release sheet, the printed circuit board, a thermodeformable material and a thermally conductive cover sheet is positioned on the vacuum table flat, porous plate. Thereafter, the vacuum table and sandwich are moved together so that the table forms a sealing relation with the flexible, thermally conductive vacuum skin.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for simulating a process carried out on a moving web in which the web is held stationary while movement through a sequence of processing zones is simulated by means for rapidly changing the process conditions to which the web is exposed, and method and apparatus for rapidly changing the operative parameters in a processing zone.

Abstract: Coating apparatus for slide, extrusion or curtain coating of one or more liquids on a moving web in which the metering orifice for each fluid to be coated is filled with a porous plug.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for simulating a process carried out on a moving web in which the web is held stationary while movement through a sequence of processing zones is simulated by means for rapidly changing the process conditions to which the web is exposed, and methods and apparatus for rapidly changing the operative parameters in a processing zone.

Abstract: A fluid dispensing system for uniformly dispensing relatively small quantities of one or more coating fluids. Each coating fluid is disposed in a vertically oriented cylindrical container and divided from a Newtonian drive fluid by a split floating plug. The drive fluid is advanced into the cylinder by a positive displacement pump at a constant rate. The split floating plug facilitates degassing of the fluid and allows it to be substantially completely dispensed at constant rate. A plurality of containers may be connected in a battery to facilitate a rapid change in the compositional parameters of a multiple layer coating system.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for coating a moving web with a multilayer liquid composition. The liquid composition is flowed by gravity down an inclined surface having slots for feeding each layer onto the inclined surface. A lip at the lowermost end of the inclined surface changes the direction of flow of the composition to a generally upward direction generally aligned with the direction of movement of the web. The angle between the upward direction of liquid flow at the end of the lip and the tangent to the web at the point of initial contact of the liquid composition and the web is between about 95 degrees and 175 degrees.

Abstract: A process for making a photographic product in which a plurality of liquid layers are coated on a base, comprising the steps of coating as the first layer adjacent the base a carrier layer containing a photographic hardener and coating as the second layer adjacent the first layer an isolation layer. The product is completed by coating a plurality of conventional photographic compositions over the first two layers and drying.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for coating a moving web with a multilayer liquid composition. A pool of the multilayer liquid composition is formed by flowing liquids along spaced paths through discharge slots exiting into a cavity of a liquid feeding apparatus, the cavity being located adjacent to and spaced apart from the moving web. The discharge slots are spaced progressively farther from the web and the liquid flow paths are aligned in directions that do not intersect the web so that each path is accessible to a cleaning probe inserted through the path slot. The multilayer liquid composition is formed into a bead which extends from the pool into contact with the moving web, and the moving web entrains the multilayer composition from the bead.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for coating a moving web with a multilayer liquid composition. The liquid composition is flowed by gravity down a plurality of slides each having a concave, inclined surface and having slots for feeding each layer onto the inclined surface. The inclined surface can be wholly or partially concave wherein the concave portion extends across the width of the slide.

Abstract: A method of multilayer coating in which a multilayer laminar bead of discrete fluids is coated on a moving web, and in which the layer adjacent the web has a substantially higher viscosity in the bead than at the point of contact with the web.