Apparatus and method for applying a liquid to a moving web

An apparatus for applying a uniform coating of liquid onto a moving web of paper or the like, said apparatus comprising:

• (a) a first rotatable roller and a second rotatable roller each having a center and a peripheral surface with the centers of each roller on a common plane, each roller rotates in opposite directions, with the peripheral surface of each roller moving in the same direction as the web, said first and said second rotatable rollers in juxtaposition to define therebetween a press nip, wherein the web passes through said nip in a downwardly direction;
• (b) means to drive the web in the downwardly direction;
• (c) a first and a second supply means for applying a first and a second liquid, respectively, onto the peripheral surfaces of said first and second rotatable rollers, respectively, the first and the second liquids are applied onto the ascending portion of the peripheral surface of said first and said second rotatable rollers, respectively, each of said first and said second supply means includes:
• (1) a chamber for receiving the respective one of the first and the second liquids to be applied onto the peripheral surface of the respective one of said first and said second rotatable rollers;
• (2) nozzle means positioned downstream of said chamber for depositing the respective one of the first and the second liquids onto the ascending portion of the respective one of said first and said second rollers;
• (3) a support beam;
• (4) a flexible support means extending from said support beam, wherein said support beam defines a part of said chamber;
• and
• (5) a wiper rod mounted on said flexible support means and biased toward said peripheral surface of said respective one of said first and second rotatable rollers, the wiper rod including peripheral grooves along the length thereof for uniformly spreading the liquid deposited onto the peripheral surface of said respective one of said first and said second rollers in order to form the uniform coating of liquid along the length thereof, wherein said apparatus deposits on the peripheral surface of each roller the coating of liquid which coating in its dry state has a thickness of not more than 0.32 ounces of liquid per square yard of coating.