Patent ID: 8821960

Claim:
A method of coating an object comprising the steps of: providing a coating apparatus comprising, a support device that supports a moving object to be coated, a coating head, a first support supporting said coating head in a selected position, said first support movable along at least one axis, an adjustment mechanism positioned to move the first support relative to the support device to adjust a coating gap between said coating head and said object to be coated, a cam positioned to move the first support, and a cam drive for providing rotation to the cam, wherein rotation of the cam adjusts the position of said coating head relative to said object to be coated; a second support supporting the first support, wherein the first and seconds are movable with respect to each other along the at least one axis, wherein the cam drive is supported by the second support and is positioned to move the first support to adjust the gap, and wherein the adjustment mechanism comprises a tapered or wedge-shaped adjustment member contacting and supported by said first support, the tapered or wedge shaped adjustment member being movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the at least one axis, and a drive mechanism to move the tapered or wedge-shaped adjustment member to adjust the first support relative to the second support; actuating the adjustment mechanism to set the coating gap between the coating head and the object to be coated, said coating head being in a coating position; applying at least one coating layer onto said moving object to be coated with said coating head; actuating the cam drive to rotate the cam whereby rotation of the cam against the first support moves the coating head in a direction away from the object being coated; and actuating the cam drive to return the coating head to said coating position.