Patent ID: 7323054

Claim:
A system for coating a monolithic support with a liquid component, the monolithic support having a top, a bottom, and a plurality of cells, which system comprising: (a) means for dosing a pre-determined quantity of the liquid component to the top of the monolithic support, (b) liquid component containment means comprising a base permeable to the liquid component releasably coupled to the top of the monolithic support for receiving the pre-determined quantity of the liquid component, and (c) vacuum means mounted to the bottom of the monolithic support for applying vacuum to the bottom of the monolithic support to withdraw the entirety of the quantity of the liquid component dosed on the top of the monolithic support and contained by the containment means into at least a portion of the plurality of the cells of the monolithic support, wherein the liquid component has a rheology such that: (1) the liquid component does not flow into the plurality of the cells of the monolithic support when placed on the top of the monolith in the absence of any application of a vacuum by the vacuum means, and (2) the liquid component flows into the plurality of the cells of the monolithic support, as plug flow of the liquid component in the cells of the monolith support, upon application of a vacuum by the vacuum means, and wherein the system is adapted to retain all of the pre-determined quantity of the liquid component dosed by the means for dosing within the plurality of the cells of the monolithic support.