Patent ID: 7501160

Claim:
A method for coating an outer peripheral surface of a pillar structure using a coating apparatus, the method comprising: holding the pillar structure by a holding means of the coating apparatus, the holding means configured to hold the pillar structure in a nearly vertical direction and to rotate together with the held pillar structure on an axis of a substantially vertical direction as a common rotating axis; supplying and coating the outer peripheral surface of the pillar structure with a coating material from a supplying and coating means of the coating apparatus disposed at a given position with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the pillar structure, wherein: the supplying and coating means comprises a nozzle having an opening in the form of a slit disposed in a substantially vertical direction, an upper end of the opening being positioned substantially the same as the position of an upper end of the pillar structure, the opening having a length in a longer direction that is 30-80% of the length between the upper end and a lower end of the pillar structure, and the coating material is supplied from the opening of the nozzle to an upper side of the outer peripheral surface of the pillar structure and coated thereon while rotating the pillar structure and the holding means on the axis of substantially vertical direction as a common rotating axis; and smoothing with a smoothing means of the coating apparatus a coating surface of the supplied and coated coating material between an upper side and a lower side of the outer peripheral surface and a longer side end portion of the smoothing means, the smoothing means having a length in a longer direction that is not shorter than the length between the upper and lower ends of the pillar structure and is disposed in a substantially vertical direction in a position to keep a given distance from the outer peripheral surface or from contacting the outer peripheral surface; wherein a uniform coating surface is formed on a whole outer peripheral surface of the pillar structure.