Appeal No. 1997-2931
Application 08/237,034
entering the applicator nip 17 (column 5, lines 58-63; column
6, lines 50-56). In the area where the coating is applied,
the speed of the applicator roll 16 relative to the backing
roll 18 is controlled to “minimize[] forces which might tend
to oppose the substantial inherent tension under which the web
must be maintained both during initial application of the
coating thereto and during the subsequent blading operation”
(column 3, lines 72 through column 4, line 1). Downstream of
the doctor blade 30, the speed of the wind-up device 36 is
adjusted to insure proper tautness after coating and during
wind-up (column 4, lines 17-19). In addition, the
circumferential distance that the web is snubbed around the
backing roll plays a role in maintaining web tautness in the
space between the applicator nip and the doctor blade (column
6, lines 48-56).
We appreciate that Kuhnel discloses a web coating
apparatus having separate drive motors for the applicator roll
16, backing roll 18, dryer 34, and wind-up device 36. We also
appreciate that Kuhnel may be viewed as teaching that the
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