Production of a flat thermoplastic film by passing the film over a bearing having a lubricating fluid on the surface thereof

Claim 1

In the process for the preparation of flat thermoplastic film in which a molten web is cast in a catenary path from an extrusion die onto a moving quenching surface, the improvement which comprises: passing the freshly extruded molten web as it moves in a free melt span over a bearing positioned between the orifice of the extrusion die and the normal touchdown point of the web onto the quenching surface; providing a layer of fluid on the surface of the bearing; displacing the molten web from its catenary path to an earlier tangential approach path from the extrusion die to the quenching surface by means of the layer of fluid on the surface of the bearing; maintaining the fluid at a distributed pressure equal to the pressure exerted toward the bearing surface as a result of the tension of the web and sufficient to maintain the freshly extruded web out of contact with the surface of the bearing; and applying a uniform field of air pressure onto the surface of the web after its touchdown onto the quenching surface sufficient to facilitate more intimate contact of the web and quenching surface while preparing a film free of recurring haze patterns known as "venetian blind haze."