Apparatus for treating continuous length webs comprising high velocity gas jets

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TREATING A FLEXIBLE CONTINUOUS WEB COMPRISING A CASING FORMING A TREATING CHAMBER AND DEFINING AN INLET LEADING INTO AND A DISCHARGE OPENING LEADING OUT OF SAID CHAMBER, TWO OPPOSED PARALLEL SPACED PLATES EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY WITHIN SAID CASING AND FORMING THEREBETWEEN A PASSAGEWAY FOR ADVANCE OF A WEB FED INTO SAID INLET THROUGH SAID PASSAGEWAY AND OUT OF SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, SAID PLATES HAVING OPPOSDED ALIGNED APERTURES DISHED OUT OF THE PLANES OF SAID PLATES SPACED BOTH LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY OF SAID PLATES AND HAVING PORTIONS BETWEEN SAID ALIGNED APERTURES FORMING OPPOSED FLAT CONTINUOUS MATRICES, OPPOSED ALIGNED NOZZLES EXTENDING INTO EACH OPPOSED PAIR OF APERTURES LEAVING ANNULAR OPENINGS BETWEEN THE NOZZLES AND THE APERTURE EDGES, THROUGH WHICH SAID ANNULAR OPENINGS GAS EMANATING FROM SAID NOZZLES MAY BE EXHAUSTED, AND THE NOZZLES EXTENDING INTO THE APERTURES OF EACH PLATE HAVING ORIFICES LYING IN A SINGLE PLANE, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID ORIFICE PLANES BEING AT LEAST AS GREAT AS THE MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID OPPOSED PLATES WHEREBY UPON DISCHARGE OF GAS AT HIGH VELOCITY THROUGH SAID NOZZLES, A WEB ADVANCING THROUGH SAID APPARATUS WILL BE CONTACTED ALONG SELECTED EQUAL AND OPPOSITE AREAS ON BOTH ITS SIDES BETWEEN SAID MATRICES WITH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL VOLUMES OF GAS HAVING LITTLE OR NO VELOCITY BUT ELEVATED PRESSURE AND WILL BE CONTACTED ALONG INTERVENING EQUAL AND OPPOSITE DISCRETE AREAS SEGREGATED BOTH LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID WEB WITH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL VOLUMES OF LOWER PRESSURE GAS MOVING AT HIGH VELOCITY NORMALLY INTO CONTACT WITH, ALONG, AND SUBSTANTIALLY NORMALLY OUT OF CONTACT WITH INTERVENING SURFACES OF SAID WEB LYING BETWEEN SAID SELECTED AREAS TO FLOAT SAID ADVANCING WEB IN SAID PASSAGEWAY FREE FROM CONTACT WITH SAID OPPOSED PLATES AND NOZZLES.