AN EXTENDED NIP PRESS APPARATUS

An extended nip press apparatus is disclosed for removing water from a web. The apparatus includes a rotatable backing roll and an elongate shoe which cooperate with the backing roll for defining therebetween an extended nip for the passage therethrough of the web. The shoe defines a concave surface. A bearing blanket is movably disposed between the backing roll and the concave surface. The arrangement is such that the web is supported by the blanket with the web being disposed between the blanket and the backing roll. A lubricant is supplied between the concave surface and the blanket such that the blanket is slidingly supported by the concave surface during passage of the blanket through the extended nip. The concave surface encompasses a pocket defined by the shoe. The arrangement is such that the pocket is filled with lubricant flowing from the concave surface so that in the event of a wad of the web entering into the extended nip, the wad is yieldingly received within the pocket so that damage to the blanket by the wad is minimized.