Method and apparatus for treating web materials

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF DRYING AND TREATING FLEXIBLE WEB MATERIALS, WHICH COMPRISES (A) FEEDING THE MATERIAL TOWARD A PRESSURIZED TREATING ZONE AT A FIRST PREDETERMINED SPEED, (B) FORCIBLY ADVANCING THE MATERIAL INTO THE PRESSURIZED ZONE BY DIRECTING HIGH VELOCITY AIR STREAMS, TO WARD THE WEB MATERIAL AND IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS ADVANCEMENT, ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE MATERIAL, (C) MECHANICALLY ENGAGING AND EFFECTIVELY FULLY SUPPORTING ONE SURFACE OF THE THUS ADVANCED WEB MATERIAL ACROSS ITS WIDTH, WHILE MAINTAINING THE MATERIAL WITHIN THE ZONE RELAXED AND FREE OF LENGTHWISE TENSION AND CONVEYING THE MATERIAL THROUGH SAID ZONE AT A SECOND PREDETERMINED AND SLOWER SPEED ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, (D) DIRECTING A LARGE PLURALITY OF CLOSELY SPACED, HIGH VELOCITY DISCRETE AIR STREAMS TOWARD THE OTHER SURFACE ONLY OF THE WEB MATERIAL DURING THE CONVEYING THEREOF THROUGH SAID ZONE, SaID AIR STREAMS BEING DIRECTED GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID OTHER SURFACE OF THE SUPPORTED WEB MATERIAL AND AMANATING FROM SOURCES CLOSE TO SAID PATH,