Coating method and apparatus including an air shielding device

A coating apparatus comprising:

• a coating head, moveable from a retracted position to an impingement position, said coating head having a front wall and a lip above the front wall from which a curtain of a coating liquid free-falls, the curtain of the coating liquid impinging onto a traveling web at the impingement position to coat the traveling web with the coating liquid;
• an air shielding device for shielding the curtain of the coating liquid from an air carried along by the traveling web, said air shielding device being secured to said coating head so as to move therewith;
• and
• a moving device for moving, just after the start of coating, the air shielding device from a first position displaced from said impingement position to a second position proximate to said impingement position.

A coating apparatus comprising:

• a coating head, moveable from a retracted position to an impingement position, from which a curtain of a coating liquid free-falls, the curtain of the coating liquid impinging onto a traveling web at the impingement position to coat the traveling web with the coating liquid;
• an air shielding device for shielding the curtain of the coating liquid from an air carried along by the traveling web;
• a rail attached to said coating head, wherein said air shielding device is placed on said rail such that said air shielding device is moved in conjunction with said coating head;
• and
• a moving device for moving along said rail, just after the start of coating, the air shielding device from a first position displaced from said impingement position to a second position proximate to said impingement position.