Patent ID: 7438763

Claim:
A coating apparatus for coating a coating liquid onto a web which is traveling, the coating apparatus comprising: a slide bead coater which includes at least one discharge slit which discharges the coating liquid, and a slide surface along which the coating liquid from the discharge slit flows down, the slide bead coater forming a bridge of the coating liquid in a gap between a distal end portion of the slide surface and the web; a liquid drop injector having an injection needle which injects a liquid drop of a predetermined liquid at a web traveling direction upstream side of a position at which the bridge of the coating liquid is formed, and starts formation of the bridge of the coating liquid; and means for leveling off the coating of coating liquid on the web without removing the coating of coating liquid from the web, the means for leveling off including an air blowing nozzle, wherein the liquid drop of the predetermined liquid comprises a surface tension which is greater than or equal to a surface tension of the coating liquid, wherein said air blowing nozzle is disposed above a back-up roller and the web, wherein said back-up roller is positioned to support the web where said bridge of coating liquid is formed between the distal end portion of the slide surface of said slide bead coater and the web, wherein said air blowing nozzle is disposed above a portion of the web supported on the back-up roller so as to blow air at said portion of the web from a position above said portion of the web.