Abstract: There is disclosed a head for use in an apparatus for coating a sheet member which comprises a first body portion, securable at a predetermined spacing from the surface to be coated, a coating blade securable to the first body portion and projecting towards said surface to be coated and a second body portion which is resiliently mounted with respect to the first body portion and which, in use, defines with the sheet material with which it is in contact and with the blade, a coating pool which is fed by a coating reservoir and from which the coating composition is applied to the sheet material. Also disclosed is an apparatus including the head and a method of coating a sheet material with the head.

Abstract: There is disclosed an apparatus for coating sheet material. The apparatus includes a rotatable backing roll (4) upon which a sample of sheet material may be mounted to form a cylinder, a coating head (9) including a blade (22), an outlet (21b) for dispensing a coating composition and a supply means (18) for supplying a coating composition to the outlet (21b) in the region of the coating edge of the blade (22), and means for enabling the coating head (9) to be moved in operation parallel to the axis of rotation of the backing roll (4) and in contact with the sheet material mounted thereon whilst the backing roll (4) is rotated, whereby a strip of sheet material may be coated of resultant helical form, wherein the supply means (18) includes an element which comprises a matrix of tubular passageways (19) longitudinally disposed with respect to the flow of coating composition through the coating head (9).