Roller machine and method for impregnating web material

Claim 1

A METHOD OF IMPREGNATING SHEET MATERIAL HAVING A NORMAL THICKNESS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF APPLYING A COATING HAVING A MEASURED UNIFORM THICKNESS TO PROVIDE AN AMOUNT OF IMPREGNATING COMPOUND WHICH IS INSUFFICIENT TO SATURATE THE SHEET MATERIAL IN ITS NORMAL CONDITION AND THICKNESS TO AN APPLICATOR, COMPRESSING THE DRY SHEET MATERIAL BY CONTACT WITH THE COATED APPLICTOR TO A UNIFORMLY REDUCED THICKNESS LESS THAN ITS NORMAL THICKNESS, SIMULTANEOUSLY TRANSFERRING THE ENTIRE AMOUNT OF THE COATING ON THE APPLICATOR DIRECTLY TO THE DRY SHEET MATERIAL BY DIRECT CONTACT OF THE UNIFORM THICKNESS COATING IN ITS ORIGINAL POSITION ON THE APPLICATOR WITH THE DRY SHEET MATERIAL, SIMULTANEOUSLY FORCING THE IMPREGNATING COMPOUND TRANSFERRED TO THE SHEET MATERIAL INTO THE COMPRESSED SHEET MATERIAL OF REDUCED THICKNESS TO UNIFORMLY IMPREGNATE THE SHEET MATERIAL SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT ITS REDUCED THICKNESS, AND PERMITTING THE SHEET MATERIAL TO EXPAND TO SUBSTANTIALLY ITS NORMAL THICKNESS TO PROVIDE A SHEET MATERIAL PARTIALLY IMPREGNATED SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY THROUGH ITS NORMAL THICKNESS AND HAVING VOIDS BETWEEN THE COATED FIBERS.