Process of coating the exterior surface of articles with a polymerizable coating material subjected to high energy ionizing irradiation

Claim 1

IN A METHOD OF APPLYING A CONTINUOUS COATING TO THE EXTERIOR SURFACE OF AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE WHEREIN A FREE FLOWABLE, POLYMERIZABLE COATING MATERIAL IS APPLIED AS A LIQUID FILM TO SAID SURFACE AND POLYMERIZED IN SITU THEREON BY PASSING THROUGH SAID FILM A BEAM OF POLYMERIZATION EFFECTING ELECTRONS FROM ELECTRON EMITTING MEANS SPACED APART THEREFROM, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES THE COMBINATION OF (A) MAINTAINING SAID EMITTING MEANS SPACED APART FROM SAID FILM A DISTANCE OF LESS THAN ABOUT 24 INCHES, (B) MAINTAINING THE AVERAGE POTENTIAL OF SAID BEAM AT A MINIMUM OF ABOUT 25,000 VOLTS PER INCH OF SAID DISTANCE AND WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 150,000 TO ABOUT 450,000 VOLTS, (C) MAINTAINING AN ELECTRON DOSE RATE TO SAID FILM FROM SAID BEAM THAT IS INSUFFICIENT TO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT VAPORIZATION OF THE MOST VOLATILE COMPONENT OF THE UNPOLYMERIZED POLYMERIZABLE COATING MATERIAL IN SAID FILM, (D) LIMITING POLYMERIZATION RATE VARIATION WITH COATING DEPTH BY ADJUSTING SAID POTENTIAL AND SAID DISTANCE IN DIRECT RELATION TO EACH OTHER TO A DISTANCEPOTENTIAL COMBINATION WHICH PROVIDES AN ELECTRON DOSE RATE TO THE DEPTHS OF SAID FILM WHICH VARIES NOT MORE THAN A FACTOR OF 2 BETWEEN THAT PORTION OF SAID FILM NEAREST SAID EMITTING MEANS AND THAT PORTION OF SAID FILM FARTHEST REMOVED FROM SAID EMITTING MEANS, AND (E) TERMINATING EXPOSURE OF SAID FILM TO SAID BEAM AFTER SAID FILM HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO SAID BEAM FOR A TIME GREATER THAN THE TIMER PERIOD REQUIRED TO EFFECT POLYMERIZATION OF THAT PORTION OF SAID FILM NEAREST SAID EMITTING MEANS AND NOT SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN TWICE SAID TIME PERIOD.