Modified web material and the manufacture thereof

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED MACHINE COMPRISING, AN ENDLESS RESILIENT BLANKET HAVING A SMOOTH FACE, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE BLANKET LENGTHWISE IN A CLOSED PATH, A PAIR OF PARALLEL SPACED RODS DISPOSED TO EXTEND ACROSS THE BLANKET AT OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF AND IN SUCH RELATION TO THE BLANKET AND TO ONE ANOTHER THAT THE BLANKET IS CAUSED TO HAVE A WRAP AROUND THE FIRST ROD IN ONE DIRECTION OF CURVATURE AND THEN AROUND THE OTHER ROD IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF CURVATURE, MEANS FOR FEEDING A MOISTENED WEB BETWEEN SAID BLANKET AND SAID SECOND ROD, SAID RODS COOPERATING WITH ONE ANOTHER TO SQUEEZE THE BLANKET TO A CONSTRICTED THICKNESS WHEREBY THE RESILIENT FACE OF THE BLANKET ADJACENT THE SECOND ROD IS CAUSED TO BE TEMPORARILY ACCELERATED, SAID SECOND ROD BEING SMOOTH FACED, AND MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY ADJUSTING THE ANGULAR RELATION OF THE RODS TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID BLANKET THROUGHOUT AN EXTENSIVE RANGE, ONE OF WHOSE LIMITS IS SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE NORMAL DIRECTION OF BLANKET TRAVEL.