Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Kiyoshi Kobayashi

Yasushi Suga

Kimiaki Miyamoto

Kenji Nakajima

Kazuhiro Oki

Yoshinobu Katagiri

Masahiro Morikawa

Takashi Nawano

Kimio Yukawa

Hidetomo Itoh

Satoru Fujisaki

Toshimitsu Sasahara

Toshimitu Sasahara

The coating apparatus has an air shielding device to prevent a curtain of coating liquids, which free-falls from a coating head, from being disturbed by an air carried along by a traveling web. The coating apparatus also has a device to move the air shielding device. Before and at the start of coating, the air shielding device is kept far from an impingement position where the free-falling curtain impinges onto the web. Just after the start of coating, the air shielding device is moved close to the impingement position. This prevents the air shielding device from being contaminated with splashes of the coating liquids, and the like.

Coating method and apparatus including an air shielding device

A process for preparing a continuous optical compensatory sheet has the continuous steps of: coating a liquid of a resin for forming an orientation layer in a solvent on a surface of a moving continuous transparent film; drying the coated layer to form a transparent resin layer; subjecting the transparent resin layer to rubbing treatment to give an orientation layer; coating a coating liquid of a discotic compound in a solvent on the orientation layer to form a coated layer; drying the coated layer; heating the coated layer to form a discotic nematic phase, whereby a layer of discotic compound is formed; and winding up the transparent film.

Process for the preparation of continuous optical compensatory sheet

A curtain coating method and apparatus using a rotatable or slidable coating plate and in which a coating liquid freely falls in the form of a thin film from a hopper. The thin film collides with a web continuously running and circumferentially turning around a backup roller to coat the web. The coating plate is rotated or slid to retract so that the freely falling coating liquid reaches the web so as to coat the web after the freely falling coating liquid flows along a checking plate which is doglegged in section and provided on a forward end of the coating plate, thereby coating the web with an even thickness at the start of coating operations.

Curtain coating method and apparatus utilizing checking plate for

A coating method that is capable of rapid curtain coating without causing 'sagging' at high flow rates exceeding 4 cm.sup.3 /cm.sec. One or more layers of a coating solution are formed on a sliding surface, and a free falling curtain of the coating solution is allowed to impinge against a continuously running web. The web has a surface roughness of at least 0.3 .mu.m, the tip of the sliding surface forms an angle of 45.degree. to 120.degree. with respect to the horizontal, and the viscosity of the coating solution is adjusted to at least 90 cps for low shear rate, with the average for all layers formed being at least 80 cps.

Curtain coating method for eliminating sagging at high flow rates

A slide-hopper-type coating method in which the viscosity of the coating solution forming a free-falling curtain and the angle .alpha. which the front edge of the lip of the slide hopper forms with respect to the horizontal are selected with respect to the flow rate of the curtain in such a way that the line of contact between the curtain and the web is concave with respect to the direction in which the web travels. In addition, the angle .beta. which the extension of the curtain in the direction of its fall forms with respect to the direction of travel of the web at the point where the curtain is deposited on the web is preferably adjusted so that it is an obtuse angle not larger than 140.degree.. By satisfying these conditions, the coating method of the present invention is capable of extending the upper limit of coating speeds without causing 'sagging' in the range of high flow quantities of coating solution per unit length of curtain coat width.

Coating method

A curtain-type coating liquid application device having a slide hopper and an application start plate used to prevent an increase in the thickness of the initially applied portion of the liquid on a web to thereby make the initial coating portion flat and smooth. Liquid freely falling in the form of a thin curtain from the slide hopper is caused to collide against the web continuously moving around a backup roller so that the liquid is applied to the web. The application start plate is curved or bent and is turnable about a fulcrum located under the backup roller. The application start plate also has an upper end extending at an oblique angle to the direction of width of the curtain, or it may be provided with a curtain receiving part at the upper end of the plate.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Kiyoshi Kobayashi