Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
179 words
The method of producing a spirally wound article of thermoplastic material, said method comprising extruding a heated strip of thermoplastic material from a die with the strip including opposite side longitudinal side surfaces interconnected by narrow opposite side longitudinal edges, advancing said strip past first and second stations while drawing said strip down between said die and said first station, performing controlled initial partial contact cooling of one side surface of said strip at said first station, arcuately deflecting said strip at said first station during said partial cooling of said strip and with said side edges of said strip comprising the inner and outer portions of the arcuate section of said strip, further drawing said strip down between said first and second stations, and thereafter guiding said strip, at said second station, through a plurality of strip guiding spaced convolutions about a journaled cylindrical member driven at a peripheral speed substantially equal to the linear speed of said strip and further cooling said strip through out at least a major portion of its passage through said second station.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
179 words
The method of producing a spirally wound article of thermoplastic material, said method comprising extruding a heated strip of thermoplastic material from a die with the strip including opposite side longitudinal side surfaces interconnected by narrow opposite side longitudinal edges, advancing said strip past first and second stations while drawing said strip down between said die and said first station, performing controlled initial partial contact cooling of one side surface of said strip at said first station, arcuately deflecting said strip at said first station during said partial cooling of said strip and with said side edges of said strip comprising the inner and outer portions of the arcuate section of said strip, further drawing said strip down between said first and second stations, and thereafter guiding said strip, at said second station, through a plurality of strip guiding spaced convolutions about a journaled cylindrical member driven at a peripheral speed substantially equal to the linear speed of said strip and further cooling said strip through out at least a major portion of its passage through said second station.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 1 including the step of driving said strip from said cylindrical member at the end of said second station at a linear speed substantially equal to the peripheral speed of said cylindrical member.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
86 words
The method of claim 2 including the step of advancing the coiled strip from said second station through a third station in which the coiled strip is spirally advanced in axial alignment with said cylindrical member with the convolutions of the coiled strip cradled between parallel rollers driven at peripheral speeds substantially equal to the linear speed of said coiled strip, heating said coiled strip in order to anneal the same as the coiled strip is spirally advanced through a predetermined zone of said third station.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
63 words
The method of claim 3 including the step of initially axially stretching said coiled strip as it moves through a first zone of the third station, maintaining said convolutions in close side-by-side relation as the coiled strip moves through a second zone of said third station and thereafter axially stretching said strip as it moves through a third zone of said third station.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said predetermined zone comprises said second zone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 4 and periodically cutting said spiral strip at the end portion of said third zone remote from said second zone to obtain individual axially wound articles of predetermined length.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 6 wherein heating said strip during its movement through said third zone includes spraying said coiled strip, both externally and internally, with heated liquid.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the cooling of said strip throughout a major portion of its passage through said second station includes submersion of at least the lower portions of the convolutions of said strip in said major portion in a bath of cooling liquid.