Method of applying durable lubricous coatings on glass containers

Claim 2

A PROCESS FOR APPLYING A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY THIN LUBRICOUS COATING TO THE HIGH ENERGY EXTERIOR SURFACES OF NEWLY FORMED GLASS CONTAINERS, SAID PROCESS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: PROVIDING SAID CONTAINERS AT A TEMPERATURE OF LESS THAN 400*F, SUPPORTING AND CONVEYING SAID PROVIDED GLASS CONTAINERS IN A SPACED-APART RELATIONSHIP ON TOP OF A PREDETERMINED SUPPORT, PROVIDING AN ENCLOSED HOUSING ABOUT A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF SAID FORAMINOUS SUPPORT, SAID ENCLOSED HOUSING HAVING INGRESS AND EGRESS OPENINGS TO PERMIT ENTRY AND EXIT RESPECTIVELY OF SAID GLASS CONTAINERS ON SAID MOVING FORAMINOUS SUPPORT, PRODUCING A VAPOR ATMOSPHERE WITHIN SAID ENCLOSED HOUSING SAID VAPOR ATMOSPHERE COMPRISING THE VAPOR OF AN ORGANIC, NONMETALLIC LSUBRICOUS COATING MATERIAL HAVING POLAR VAPOR MOLECULES, HEATING SAID VAPOR ATMOSPHERE WITHIN SAID ENCLOSED HOUSING TO MAINTAIN A VAPOR ATMOSPHERE TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 180*F AND 400*F, MAINTAINING THE VAPOR ATMOSPHERE TEMPERATURE SURFICIENTLY HIGH TO MAINTAIN THE COATING MATERIAL IN ITS CHEMICALLY UNCHANGED VAPOR STATE WITHIN SAID ATMOSPHERE, MAINTAINING THE CONTAINER TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO SUBSTANTIALLY PRECLUDE NORMAL CONDENSATION OF THE VAPORIZED COATING MATERIAL ON THE EXTERNAL CONTAINER SURFACES WHILE YET SUFFICIENTLY LOW TO PERMIT MONOMOLECULAR VAPOR ADHERENCE OF SAID COATING MATERIAL AT ENERGY SITES ON THE EXTERNAL CONTAINER SURFACES, POWER DRIVING SAID VAPOR ATMOSPHERE WITH A POWER DRIVEN FAN WITHIN SAID ENCLOSED HOUSING TO FORCE SAID VAPOR ATMOSPHERE IN CONTACT WITH, AROUND AND PAST SUBSTANTIALLY ALL

Claim 3

A process as in claim 1 wherein said temperatures of said provided containers and of said vapor atmosphere are both maintained at substantially 250.degree.F.

Claim 4

A process as in claim 1 wherein said producing step comprises vaporizing a coating material selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, fatty acids and their derivatives.

Claim 5

A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein said fatty acids have between 10 and 18 carbon atoms.

Claim 6

A process as in claim 1 wherein said power driving step includes the forcing of said vapor atmosphere upwardly through said foraminous support.

Claim 7

A process at set forth in claim 1 further comprising the first step of applying an initial tin oxide coating to the external surfaces of said glass containers to thus provide said energy sites.

Claim 8

A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the coating material comprises polyethylene.

Claim 9

A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the coating material comprises oleic acid.

Claim 10

A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein said coating compounds comprise fatty acids having between 10 and 18 carbon atoms.

Claim 11

A process as in claim 1 wherein said external container surfaces are brought in contact with said vapor for a period of between about 60 to 300 seconds.

Claim 12

A process for applying a substantially uniformly thin lubricous coating to the high energy exterior surfaces of newly formed glass containers, said process comprising the steps of: providing said containers at a temperature of between 110.degree.F and 250.degree.F, supporting and conveying said provided glass containers in a spaced-apart relationship on top of a moving forminous support, providing an enclosed housing about a predetermined length of said foraminous support, said enclosed housing having ingress and egress openings to permit entry and exit respectively of said glass containers on said moving foraminous support, producing a vapor atmosphere within said enclosed housing, said vapor atmosphere comprising the vapor of an organic, nonmetallic coating material selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, fatty acids and their derivatives, heating said vapor atmosphere with said enclosed housing to maintain a vapor atmosphere temperature between 250.degree.F and 320.degree.F, maintaining the vapor atmosphere sufficiently high to maintain the coating material in its chemically unchanged vapor state within said atmosphere, maintaining the container temperature sufficiently high to substantially preclude normal condensation of the vaporized coating material on the external container surfaces while yet sufficiently low to permit monomolecular vapor adherence of said coating material at energy sites on the external container surfaces, power driving said vapor atmosphere with a power driven fan within said enclosed housing to force said vapor atmosphere through said moving foraminous support, in contact with, around and past the exterior surfaces of said spacedapart glass containers, return-directing said power driven vapor atmosphere within said enclosed housing to said power driven fan, and continuously and cyclically repeating said power driving and said return-directing steps at a sufficiently high repetition rate to thus produce a corresponding sufficiently high flow rate of said vapor atmosphere during the time said glass containers are passing through said housing to initially pnysically adhere vapor molecules of said coating material to energy sites on the exterior container surfaces thus forming a substantially uniform monomolecular coating while continuing to expose the exterior container surfaces to said vapor atmosphere but thereafter forming additional coating at a substantially reduced rate of adherence as a result of the then lowered surface energy site availability whereby the external surfaces of the containers are effectively given a substantially uniformly thin lubricous coating substantially independent of variations in the vapor concentration of said coating material and/or the times of exposure thereto.

Claim 13

A process for applying a substantially uniformly thin lubricous coating to the high energy exterior surfaces of newly formed glass containers, said process comprising the steps of: providing said containers at a temperature of between 110.degree.F and 250.degree.F, supporting and conveying said provided glass containers in a spaced-apart relationship on top of a moving forminous support, providing an enclosed housing about a predetermined length of said foraminous support, said enclosed housing having ingress and egress openings to permit entry and exit respectively of said glass containers on said moving foraminous support, producing a vapor atmosphere within said enclosed housing, said vapor atmosphere comprising the vapor of an organic, nonmetallic coating material selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, fatty acids and their derivatives, heating said vapor atmosphere with said enclosed housing to maintain a vapor atmosphere temperature between 250.degree.F and 320.degree.F, maintaining the vapor atmosphere sufficiently high to maintain the coating material in its chemically unchanged vapor state within said atmosphere, maintaining the container temperature sufficiently high to substantially preclude normal condensation of the vaporized coating material on the external container surfaces while yet sufficiently low to permit monomolecular vapor adherence of said coating material at energy sites on the external container surfaces, power driving said vapor atmosphere with a power driven fan within said enclosed housing to force said vapor atmosphere through said moving foraminous support, in contact with, around and past the exterior surfaces of said spacedapart glass containers, return-directing said power driven vapor atmosphere within said enclosed housing to said power driven fan, and continuously and cyclically repeating said power driving and said return-directing steps at a sufficiently high repetition rate to thus produce a corresponding sufficiently high flow rate of said vapor atmosphere during the time said glass containers are passing through said housing to initially pnysically adhere vapor molecules of said coating material to energy sites on the exterior container surfaces thus forming a substantially uniform monomolecular coating while continuing to expose the exterior container surfaces to said vapor atmosphere but thereafter forming additional coating at a substantially reduced rate of adherence as a result of the then lowered surface energy site availability whereby the external surfaces of the containers are effectively given a substantially uniformly thin lubricous coating substantially independent of variations in the vapor concentration of said coating material and/or the times of exposure thereto.