Apparatus and process for coating a flexible web

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF WEB COATING COMPRISING APPLYING TO A FLEXIBLE MOVING WEB COATING MATERIAL IN A RELATIVELY THICK LAYER HAVING A THICKNESS OF AT LEAST 200% OF THE DESIRED FINAL WET THICKNESS, METERING AT A FIRST TRANSVERSE LINE ACROSS THE WEB SAID RELATIVELY THICK LAYER TO A LESSER THICKNESS OF AT LEAST 120% OF SAID DESIRED WET THICKNESS, IMPINGING AT A SECOND TRANSVERSE LINE ACROSS SAID WEB A STREAM OF AIR AGAINST SAID LAYER OF LESSER THICKNESS AT AN ANGLE OF 35* TO 90* MEASURED FROM THE PLANE OF SAID WEB THROUGH SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE LINE TO DOCTOR SAID LAYER OF LESSER THICKNESS TO SAID DESIRED WET THICKNESS, SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE LINE BEING AT A DISTANCE FROM SAID FIRST TRANSVERSE LINE OF ABOUT 1.0 TO 5.0 TIMES SAID DESIRED WET THICKNESS, AND GUIDING SAID AIR STREAM REFLECTED FROM SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE LINE AWAY FROM SAID WEB AT AN ANGLE, MEASURED FROM THE PLANE OF SAID WEB AT SAID FIRST TRANSVERSE LINE, AT LEAST AS LARGE AS THE ANGLE OF SAID REFLECTED AIR STREAM MEASURED FROM THE PLANE OF SAID WEB AT SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE LINE, WHILE PREVENTING THE PASSAGE OF AIR FROM SAID IMPINGING STREAM AND SAID REFLECTED STREAM FROM EFFECTING CONTACT WITH THE INRUNNING WEB AT ANY PORTION OF SAID WEB PRECEDING SAID FIRST TRANSVERSE LINE.