JP2001079462A - Multicolor coating apparatus and color change washing method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To supply a next color coating material to the region of a changeover valve mechanism to allow the same to stand ready by connecting each manifold and the changeover valve mechanism by an individual coating material supply flow channel and providing a flow channel changeover valve to the changeover valve mechanism. SOLUTION: In a changeover valve mechanism 50, trigger valves 52, 53, damp valves 54, 55, a washing soln. supply valve 56 and an air supply valve 57 are arranged on the left and right sides of a manifold 50 for sending a coating material and a washing fluid in a coating machine 1. The trigger valve 52 and a manifold 11 of a color changeover valve device 10 are connected through a piping 58 being a coating material supply flow channel, and the trigger valve 52 and a manifold 12 of the color changeover valve device 10 through a piping 59, and pumps 60, 61 are provided to these pipings 58, 59. By this constitution, when a next color is applied, a next color coating material can be supplied to the region of the changeover valve mechanism 50 to be allowed to stand by.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-color coating apparatus capable of selectively supplying each color paint to a coating machine, and a cleaning method for changing colors in the multi-color coating apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of applying different colors to an object to be coated such as an automobile body using a single coating machine, cleaning is performed so as not to cause a color mixture between a preceding paint and a next color paint when changing colors. There is a need. In particular, when painting an automobile body, painting must be completed within a certain tact,
Cleaning must be completed efficiently and in a short time.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2723 has been proposed.
A technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 88 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 15, the prior art described above includes a switching valve mechanism (cleaning valve mechanism) in the middle of a paint supply flow path 502 from a color changing valve device 500 capable of selectively supplying each color paint and a cleaning fluid to a coating machine 501. ) 503, and the paint supply flow path 5
02 is divided into an upstream paint supply channel 502a and a downstream paint supply channel 502b.

[0004] When the painting machine 501 that has been painting the workpiece W reaches the painting end position, the supply of paint from the color changing valve device 500 to the painting machine 501 is stopped, and the painting machine 501 is stopped. Before retreating to the cleaning position, the upstream paint supply flow path 502a from the color changing valve device 500 to the switching valve mechanism 503 is cleaned by supplying a cleaning fluid from the color changing valve device 500, and the coating machine 501 moves to the cleaning position. If the evacuation is performed, the switching valve mechanism 50 is in this cleaning position.
3 to the coating machine 501 on the downstream side of the paint supply passage 502b
Is to be washed.

[0005]

When an automobile body or the like is to be painted, the color changing valve device 500 is used to paint the painting machine 50.
The length of the paint supply flow path 502 up to 1 increases, and it takes time to clean the long paint supply flow path 502 when changing colors.

Therefore, according to JP-A-10-272388, before the coating machine 501 retreats to the washing position,
If the cleaning of the upstream paint supply flow path 502a up to the switching valve mechanism 503 before the coating machine 501 has been completed, the time required for cleaning at the cleaning position can be reduced.

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-272388
According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-187, even if the cleaning time can be shortened, the spraying of the next color cannot be immediately started. That is, in order to spray the next color, the color changing valve device 5 is used.
Paint supply flow path 502 from 00 to the coating machine 501
Must be filled with the next color paint. If the paint supply flow path 502 is long, the color changing valve device 500 to the coating machine 5
It takes time to supply the paint to just before 01, and the tact feeding time cannot be reduced.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a multi-color coating apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a coating machine for spraying a coating material on a workpiece from a color changing valve device for selectively supplying each color coating material and a cleaning fluid. In a multi-color coating apparatus provided with a switching valve mechanism for turning on / off the supply of each color paint and a cleaning fluid to a coating machine in the middle of the paint supply flow path, at least two manifolds are provided in the color changing valve apparatus. Formed in parallel, a color change valve for supplying each color paint and a cleaning fluid valve for supplying a cleaning fluid are mounted in parallel on these manifolds, and each manifold and the switching valve mechanism are provided separately. They are connected by a paint supply flow path, and the switching valve mechanism is provided with a flow path switching valve corresponding to each of the manifolds formed in the color changing valve device.

With this configuration, when the next color is applied, the next color paint can be supplied to the switching valve mechanism and kept in a standby state. It becomes possible to spray.

[0010] Of the color change valves attached to each manifold of the color change valve device, color change valves for supplying paint of the same color may be connected by piping to form a circulation flow path. Further, a cleaning fluid valve attached to each manifold of the color changing valve device may be connected by a pipe, and a cleaning fluid (thinner or air) may be supplied to the other cleaning fluid valve via one cleaning fluid valve. . In the case of the cleaning fluid valve, unlike the color changing valve, a dead end flow path that does not form a circulation flow path and does not return the supplied cleaning fluid is used. With such a configuration, only one pump for supplying the paint is required for each color, and similarly, one pressurized air source and one cleaning fluid pump are required.

A common color change valve can be attached to each of the plurality of manifolds of the color change valve device for each color, and this color change valve can be a rotary valve.
With such a configuration, the above-described effects can be exerted without increasing the number of color change valves.

[0012] It is preferable that the cleaning fluid valve provided in the color changing valve device is mounted at the most upstream position of the manifold. With such a configuration, the inside of the manifold of the color changing valve device can be reliably washed.

[0013] The switching valve mechanism may be provided with a cleaning fluid valve capable of supplying a cleaning fluid to the coating machine side. With such a configuration, the downstream side of the switching valve mechanism can be selectively cleaned, and in order to clean the inside of the manifold of the coating machine, the cleaning fluid is supplied from the color changing valve device that is considerably away from the coating machine. You don't have to send it.
Note that the cleaning fluid valve may not be provided in the switching valve mechanism. If the cleaning fluid valve is not provided, the structure is simplified accordingly.

The flow switching valve of the switching valve mechanism includes a trigger valve for turning on / off the supply of each color paint and a cleaning fluid from the manifold of the color changing valve device to the coating machine side, and a downstream side of the trigger valve. And a dump valve for sending each color paint and the cleaning fluid passing through the trigger valve to the waste liquid tank, or a rotary valve.

Further, as a cleaning method at the time of color change in the coating using the above-mentioned multicolor coating apparatus, the one comprising the following steps is efficient. The first cleaning method is a method of overlapping the cleaning of the paint supply flow path on the upstream side of the switching valve mechanism with the supply of the next color. More specifically, the first cleaning method uses one of the manifolds of the color changing valve device. When the paint spraying machine comes to the painting end position, the supply of paint to the one manifold is stopped by the color changing valve device, and the paint from the one manifold to the painting machine is stopped by the switching valve mechanism. The supply is stopped, and then the upstream paint supply flow path from the one manifold to the switching valve mechanism is washed using the time required for the coating machine to move to the washing position, and the fluid containing the washed paint is washed. Another upstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold to the switch valve mechanism is collected in the waste liquid tank via the switching valve mechanism, and in parallel with the washing of the upstream paint supply flow path. After the paint of the next color is supplied, and after the coating machine has moved to the cleaning position, a cleaning fluid is supplied from the switching valve mechanism to the manifold of the coating machine, and the downstream paint supply flow path from the switching valve mechanism to the coating machine is cleaned. Is the way.

The second cleaning method is a method of overlapping the cleaning of the paint supply flow path downstream of the switching valve mechanism with the supply of the next color. Specifically, one of the color changing valve devices is used. When the paint spraying the paint from the manifold comes to the painting end position, the supply of paint to the one manifold is stopped by the color change valve device, and the switch valve mechanism sends the paint from the one manifold to the paint machine. The supply of the paint is stopped, and then the upstream paint supply flow path from the one of the manifolds to the switching valve mechanism is washed using the time required for the coating machine to move to the washing position. The contained fluid is collected in the waste liquid tank via the switching valve mechanism, and after the coating machine has moved to the cleaning position, the cleaning fluid is supplied from the switching valve mechanism to the manifold of the coating machine, and the switching valve mechanism is provided. The downstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold to the switching valve mechanism is cleaned in parallel with the cleaning of the downstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold to the coating machine. This is a method of supplying the next color paint to the flow path.

The supply of the next color may be overlapped with both the cleaning of the upstream paint supply channel and the cleaning of the downstream paint supply channel.

The third cleaning method is a method in which neither the cleaning of the paint supply flow path nor the supply of the next color is performed while the coating machine moves to the cleaning position. Specifically, one of the color changing valve devices is used. When the coating machine that has sprayed the paint from the manifold comes to the painting end position, the color change valve device stops supplying the paint to the one of the manifolds, and then, after the painting machine moves to the washing position, Wash the upstream paint supply flow path from one of the manifolds to the switching valve mechanism and the downstream paint supply flow path from the switching valve mechanism to the coating machine, and wash the upstream and downstream paint supply paths. In parallel with this, the next color paint is supplied to another upstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold to the switching valve mechanism.

A fourth cleaning method is a method in which only the supply of the next color is performed without cleaning the paint supply flow path while the coating machine moves to the cleaning position. When the paint spraying paint from one manifold of the valve device comes to the painting end position, the color changing valve device stops supplying paint to the one manifold, and then the paint machine moves to the washing position. Utilizing the moving time, the next color paint is supplied to another upstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold of the color changing valve device to the switching valve mechanism, and further after the coating machine moves to the cleaning position. This is a method of cleaning the upstream paint supply flow path from the one manifold to the switching valve mechanism and the downstream paint supply flow path from the switching valve mechanism to the coating machine.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a color changing valve device of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a switching valve mechanism of the multicolor coating apparatus. The multicolor coating apparatus includes a coating machine 1 such as an electrostatic coating machine that sprays a coating material on a workpiece W such as an automobile body. A color changing valve device 10 for supplying a coating fluid and a cleaning fluid such as a thinner to the coating machine 1, and a switching valve mechanism 50 provided in a coating supply flow path connecting the color changing valve device 10 and the coating machine 1. Have.

The color changing valve device 10 has a gate type (U-shape) as a whole, and two manifolds 11 and 12 are formed in parallel, and a cleaning liquid supply hole is provided at a closed upstream end of each of the manifolds 11 and 12. 13 and air supply holes 14 are formed in pairs, and paint supply holes 15 are formed in pairs at predetermined intervals from the upstream end of each of the manifolds 11 and 12 to the downstream.

That is, a cleaning liquid supply valve 16 for supplying a cleaning liquid such as a thinner is attached to the cleaning liquid supply hole 13 of each of the manifolds 11 and 12, an air supply valve 17 is attached to the air supply hole 14, and a paint supply hole 15 is provided. Is provided with a color change valve 18 for supplying each color paint. The cleaning liquid supply valve 16 (air supply valve 17) and the color change valve 18 are arranged in parallel with the manifold.

The structure of the color changing valve 18 is such that a cylinder 20 is formed at the distal end side, an air supply hole 21 is opened at the base end side of the cylinder 20, and a piston 22 is disposed inside the cylinder 20. An elastic member 23 such as a coil spring is disposed between the distal end surface of the piston 22 and the distal end surface of the cylinder 20, and a valve stem 24 is attached to the base end side of the piston 22.

The valve stem 24 faces the inside of the valve chamber 25, and the valve stem 2
The first valve body 26 is provided on the base end side of the valve chamber 4 and the valve stem 2
A second valve body 27 is provided on the front end side of the valve chamber 4, and valve seats 28 and 29 are disposed at locations facing the valve bodies 26 and 27. A supply hole 30 is opened, and a second paint supply hole 31 is opened in an insertion hole of the valve stem 24 closer to the piston 22 than the first valve body 26.

Then, in FIG. 2, the manifold 11
A predetermined color paint is supplied from a tank 35 to a first paint supply hole 30 of a color change valve 18 attached to the right side of the tank 35 via a pipe 34 having a pump 32 and a regulator 33. Further, the second paint supply hole 31 of the color changing valve 18 attached to the right side of the manifold 11 and the manifold 1
The first paint supply hole 30 of the color change valve 18 attached to the left side of the second 2 is connected by a pipe 36 to the second paint supply hole 31 of the color change valve 18 attached to the left side of the manifold 12. The tank 35 is connected with a pipe 37.

The valve rod 24 is normally urged by the elastic force of the elastic member 23 in the direction in which the second valve body 27 comes into contact with the valve seat 29, and the first valve body 26 is moved to the valve seat 28. Away from Therefore, the paint supplied from the tank 35 to the first paint supply hole 30 of the color change valve 18 attached to the right side of the manifold 11 is supplied to the valve chamber 25 of the color change valve 18 attached to the right side of the manifold 11. A second paint feed hole 31,
The pipe 36 is returned to the tank 35 via the first paint supply hole 30, the second paint supply hole 31, and the pipe 37 of the color changing valve 18 attached to the left side of the manifold 12. That is, a paint circulation circuit is always formed.

Similarly, the first paint supply hole 30 of the color change valve 18 attached to the left side of the manifold 11 is supplied with a different color from a tank 35 via a pipe 34 provided with a pump 32 and a regulator 33. Is supplied.
The second paint supply hole 31 of the color change valve 18 attached to the left side of the manifold 11 and the first paint supply hole 3 of the color change valve 18 attached to the right side of the manifold 12.
Numeral 0 is connected by a pipe 38, and a second paint supply hole 31 of the color changing valve 18 attached to the right side of the manifold 12 is connected to the tank 35 by a pipe 39.

In this case as well, a paint circulation path is always formed, and air is supplied to the air supply hole 21 in the same manner as described above.
The piston 22 and the valve stem 24 retreat against the elastic member 23, the second valve body 27 of the valve stem 24 separates from the valve seat 29, the valve chamber 25 communicates with the paint supply hole 15, and the manifold 11 or 12 The paint is supplied inside. In addition, each manifold 11
Alternatively, for each 12, the plurality of color change valves 18, the cleaning liquid supply valve 16, and the air supply valve 17 are controlled so as not to be opened simultaneously. However, it is possible for the manifold 11 and the manifold 12 to simultaneously open the color change valve 18, the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 or the air supply valve 17.

The structure of the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17 are basically the same as those of the color changing valve 18, and therefore, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. However, the cleaning fluid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17 attached to the manifold 12 are not provided with the second supply holes 31 because the cleaning fluid does not form a circulation path.

The first supply hole 30 of the air supply valve 17 mounted on the right side of the manifold 11 is connected to a pipe 41 connected to the compressed air source 40, and is connected to the first supply hole 30 of the air supply valve 17 mounted on the right side of the manifold 11. 2 feed holes 31
And the first supply hole 30 of the air supply valve 17 attached to the left side of the manifold 12 are connected by a pipe 42,
Air is supplied to an air supply valve 17 mounted on the left side of the manifold 12 via an air supply valve 17 mounted on the right side of the manifold 11.

Similarly, for the cleaning liquid supply valve 16,
A cleaning liquid such as a thinner is supplied from a tank 45 to a first supply hole 30 of a cleaning liquid supply valve 16 mounted on the left side of the manifold 11 via a pipe 44 provided with a pump 43, and is mounted on the left side of the manifold 11. The second supply hole 31 of the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the first supply hole 30 of the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 attached to the right side of the manifold 12 are connected by a pipe 46 and attached to the left side of the manifold 11. The cleaning liquid supply valve 1 attached to the right side of the manifold 12 via the cleaning liquid supply valve 16
The cleaning liquid is supplied to 6.

Returning to FIG. 1, the switching valve mechanism 50 includes a manifold 51 for feeding paint and a cleaning fluid to the coating machine 1,
Trigger valves 52, 53, dump valves 54, 55, a cleaning liquid supply valve 56, and an air supply valve 57 disposed on the left and right of the manifold 51 are provided.
2 and the manifold 11 of the color changing valve device 10 are connected via a pipe 58, and the trigger valve 52 and the manifold 12 of the color changing valve device 10 are connected via a pipe 59. Are pumps 60 and 6
1 is provided.

FIG. 3 shows details of the trigger valve 53, the dump valve 55, and the cleaning liquid supply valve 56. still,
The trigger valve 52 and the dump valve 54 have the same configurations as the trigger valve 53 and the dump valve 55, respectively, and thus description thereof will be omitted. The trigger valve 53 has a cylinder 70
A piston 71 is provided in the cylinder 70, an air supply hole 72 is opened at the base end of the cylinder 70, and an elastic member is provided between the distal end surface of the piston 71 and the distal end surface of the cylinder 70. 73 are provided. A valve stem 74 is attached to the base end of the piston 71. The valve stem 74 faces the inside of the valve chamber 75, and a valve body 76 is attached to the distal end thereof. A paint supply hole 77 and a paint discharge hole 78 that are connected to the pipe 59 are provided on the side of the valve chamber 75.

When air is supplied from the air supply hole 72 and the piston 71 is retracted against the elastic member 73,
The valve body 76 separates from the valve seat, and the paint or the cleaning fluid in the valve chamber 75 is supplied to the manifold 51 of the coating machine 1 through the hole 79.

The dump valve 54 has a cylinder 80 formed at the tip end thereof.
1 is provided, and an air supply hole 8 is
2, an elastic member 83 is provided between the distal end surface of the piston 81 and the distal end surface of the cylinder 80, and a valve stem 84 is attached to the base end side of the piston 81.
Faces a valve chamber 85, and a valve body 86 is attached to a tip end thereof. A paint supply hole 87 connected to the paint discharge hole 78 of the trigger valve 53 and a paint discharge hole 89 connected to the waste liquid tank 88 are opened on the side of the valve chamber 85.

The cleaning liquid supply valve 56 has a cylinder 90 formed at the distal end thereof, a piston 91 provided in the cylinder 90, and an air supply hole 92 opened at the base end of the cylinder 90. An elastic member 93 is disposed between the distal end surface of the cylinder 91 and the distal end surface of the cylinder 90, and a valve stem 94 is attached to the base end side of the piston 91. Is fitted with a valve body 96. The flow path 97 connected to the manifold 51 is normally closed by the valve body 96. A cleaning liquid supply hole 98 is formed on the side of the valve chamber 95.
8 is connected to a pipe 99 from the cleaning liquid tank 45.

The color change cleaning method for the multicolor coating apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to some examples. First,
At present, the A-color paint supplied from the color changing valve 18 on the manifold 12 side of the color changing valve device 10 is applied to the automobile body W from the coating machine 1 via the pipe 59, the trigger valve 53, and the manifold 51. Assume that

When the application of the color A is completed, the second valve body 27 of the color change valve 18 of the color A and the valve seat 29 are brought into contact with each other, and the supply of the color A paint to the manifold 12 is stopped. At the same time, the valve body 76 of the trigger valve 53 is brought into contact with its valve seat to stop supplying the A color to the manifold 51.

Next, the coating machine 1 moves from the painting position to the original position in order to perform the color change to the B color. During this time manifold 1
The cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17 on the second side are alternately opened and closed, the dump valve 55 is opened, and the trigger valve 5 is operated by the operation of the pressure pump 61 from the manifold 12.
3. The A color paint and the cleaning liquid are discharged to the waste liquid tank 88 via the dump valve 55. By this step, the inside of the manifold 12, the pipe 59, and the trigger valve 53 are cleaned.

Then, after the coating machine 1 returns to the original position, the cleaning liquid supply valve 56 and the air supply valve 57 of the switching valve mechanism 50 are alternately opened and closed, and the cleaning between the manifold 51 and the coating machine 1 is performed.

Using the time so far, the next color B
The color paint is a color change supply device 1 which is another paint supply system.
0 is supplied from the manifold 11 to the trigger valve 52 by the operation of the pressure pump 60 and is in a standby state.
While the B color is supplied to the trigger valve 52, the dump valve 54 is opened by the timer, and is closed after the B color is supplied to the trigger valve 52.

As described above, it is possible to apply the next color B paint at the same time when the coating machine 1 returns to the coating position. Next, in the case of painting the C color, the manifold 12 serving as the C color supply system is washed while the B color supply system is being cleaned.
Then, the C color paint is supplied to the trigger valve 53 via the pipe 59.

The supply timing of the next color to the next color supply system is set to overlap with the cleaning of the pipes 58 or 59 and the manifold 11 or 12 on the upstream side of the switching valve mechanism 50, or the timing of the supply of the next color is set to Whether to overlap with the cleaning on the downstream side, that is, between the manifold 51 and the coating machine 1 is arbitrary, and may overlap with both.

In the above-described cleaning method, the cleaning downstream of the switching valve mechanism 50, that is, cleaning from the manifold 51 to the coating machine 1 is performed by the cleaning liquid supply valve 56 and the air supply valve 57 provided in the switching valve mechanism 50. However, the cleaning liquid supply valve 56 and the air supply valve 57 are not used, and the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17 of the color changing valve device 10 are used to perform the cleaning on the downstream side of the switching valve mechanism 50. It is also possible to do. In this case, the downstream side cleaning is performed after the coating machine 1 moves to the cleaning position, but the supply of the next color paint to the next color supply system may be performed before or after the downstream side cleaning is started.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is an overall view of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a color changing valve apparatus of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the second embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view illustrating the operation of the color changing valve (rotary valve), FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view illustrating the operation of the color changing valve (rotary valve) of the color changing valve device, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of a valve (rotary valve), and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of a cleaning fluid valve (rotary valve) of a color changing valve device. The difference from the first embodiment is the color changing valve device 100, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The color changing valve device 100 has a gate shape (U-shape) as a whole, and two manifolds 111 and 112 are formed in parallel, and the closed upstream ends of the manifolds 111 and 112 face inward. Cleaning fluid supply holes 113 are formed, and paint supply holes 115 are formed in each of the manifolds 111 and 112 at predetermined intervals toward the inside.

That is, a common color change valve 118... And a cleaning fluid supply valve 116 are mounted in parallel between the manifolds 111 and 112. The cleaning fluid supply valve 116 has a structure capable of alternately supplying a cleaning liquid such as a thinner and air, as described later.

The structure of the color changing valve 118 includes a lower driving unit 120, a rotary unit 121 rotated by the driving unit 120, and a housing 122 containing the rotary unit 121. The housing 122 includes the manifold 111, The paint supply holes 123 and 124 corresponding to the paint supply holes 115 of 112 are formed, and the paint supply holes 1 and 120 are separated from the paint supply holes 123 and 124 by 90 °.
25 and a paint circulation hole 126 are formed. The paint supply hole 125 is connected to the paint tank 127 via a pressure pump 128 and a regulator 129, and the paint circulation hole 126 communicates with the paint tank 127.

The rotary part 121 is provided with a straight paint passage 130 communicating the paint supply hole 125 and the paint circulation hole 126 at a predetermined rotation position. Supply hole 124 and paint supply hole 1
A curved paint passage 131 that selectively communicates with the paint passage 25 is formed.

On the other hand, the cleaning fluid supply valve 116 is
A lower drive unit 140, a rotary unit 141 rotated by the drive unit 140, and a housing 142 accommodating the rotary unit 141 are provided in the housing 142. The cleaning fluid supply holes 1 of the manifolds 111 and 112 are provided in the housing 142.
The cleaning fluid supply holes 143 and 144 corresponding to the cleaning fluid supply holes 13 and 144 are formed.
The cleaning liquid (solvent) supply hole 145 and the air supply hole 1
46 are formed. The cleaning liquid supply hole 145 is connected to the cleaning liquid tank 147 via a pressure pump 148, and the air supply hole 146 is connected to an air supply source 149.

The rotary part 141 is provided with a curved cleaning fluid passage 150 for selectively communicating the cleaning fluid supply hole 143 or the cleaning fluid supply hole 144 with the cleaning fluid supply hole 125. .

Hereinafter, a method for cleaning the color of a multicolor coating apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to examples. First, the A color paint supplied from the color change valve 118 on the manifold 112 side of the current color change valve device 100 is applied to the automobile body W from the coating machine 1 via the pipe 59, the trigger valve 53, and the manifold 51. Suppose that

When the painting of the color A is completed, the rotary portion 121 of the color changing valve 118 of the color A is rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG. The communication state with is released,
Instead, as shown in FIG. 7, the paint circulation hole 126 and the paint supply hole 125 communicate with each other through a straight paint passage 130, and the A color paint is circulated.

Next, in order to change the color to B, the coating machine 1 moves from the coating position to the original position (washing position). During this time, the cleaning fluid such as thinner and air are alternately supplied from the cleaning fluid supply valve 116 to the manifold 112 by rotating the rotary unit 141 as shown in FIG. The A-color paint and the cleaning liquid are discharged to the waste liquid tank 88 via the trigger valve 53 and the dump valve 55 by the operation of the pressure pump 61. By this step, the inside of the manifold 112, the pipe 59, and the trigger valve 53 are cleaned.

Then, after the coating machine 1 returns to the original position, the cleaning liquid supply valve 56 and the air supply valve 57 of the switching valve mechanism 50 are alternately opened and closed to perform cleaning between the manifold 51 and the downstream coating machine 1. .

Using the time so far, the next color B
The color paint is a color change supply device 1 which is another paint supply system.
The pressure is supplied from the manifold 111 to the trigger valve 52 by the operation of the pressure feed pump 60 and is in a standby state. While the B color is supplied to the trigger valve 52, the dump valve 54 is opened by the timer, and is closed after the B color is supplied to the trigger valve 52.

As described above, it is possible to apply the next color B paint at the same time when the coating machine 1 returns to the painting position. Next, when painting the C color, the manifold 11 which is the C color supply system is washed while the B color supply system is being cleaned.
The C color paint is supplied to the trigger valve 53 via the pipe 2 and the pipe 59. The supply timing of the next color to the next color supply system may be overlapped with any of the cleaning steps as in the first embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is an overall view of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a switching valve mechanism of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the third embodiment.
The difference between the first embodiment and the first embodiment lies in the switching valve mechanism 200, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The switching valve mechanism 200 includes the trigger valve 25
2, 253 and dump valves 254, 255, and do not include the cleaning liquid supply valve and the air supply valve shown in the first embodiment. The trigger valve 253 has a cylinder 270 formed at the distal end thereof, a piston 271 disposed in the cylinder 270, an air supply hole 272 opened at the base end of the cylinder 270, and a distal end surface of the piston 271. An elastic member 273 is provided between the tip surfaces of the cylinder 270. A valve stem 274 is attached to the base end side of the piston 271, and the valve stem 274 faces the inside of the valve chamber 275, and a valve body 276 is attached to the tip end.
A paint supply hole 277 and a paint discharge hole 278 which are connected to the pipe 59 are provided on the side of the valve chamber 275.

When air is supplied from the air supply hole 272 to retract the piston 271 against the elastic member 273, the valve body 276 separates from the valve seat, and the paint or cleaning fluid in the valve chamber 275 is removed. It is supplied to the manifold 51 of the coating machine 1 through the hole 279.

In the dump valve 255, a cylinder 280 is formed at the distal end, a piston 281 is provided in the cylinder 280, and an air supply hole 282 is opened at the proximal end of the cylinder 280. An elastic member 283 is provided between the distal end surface of the cylinder 280 and the distal end surface of the cylinder 280, and a valve rod 284 is attached to the base end side of the piston 281. The valve rod 284 faces the inside of the valve chamber 285, Has a valve body 286 attached thereto. A paint supply hole 287 connected to the paint discharge hole 278 of the trigger valve 253 and a paint discharge hole 289 connected to the waste liquid tank 288 are opened on the side of the valve chamber 285.

The color change cleaning method of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the switching valve mechanism 20 is used.
0 is not provided with a cleaning fluid supply valve such as a cleaning liquid supply valve and an air supply valve.
In cleaning the downstream side, the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17 provided in the color changing valve device 10 are used. According to this embodiment, since a long distance from the cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17 to the tip of the coating machine is cleaned by one cleaning liquid supply valve 16 and the air supply valve 17, it takes a little time. Can be simplified. Note that specific examples of the color changing cleaning method of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the third embodiment are described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment.
The description is omitted because it is the same as the embodiment.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 is an overall view of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a switching valve mechanism of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 14. The difference between the fourth embodiment and the first embodiment is a switching valve mechanism 300, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. And the description is omitted.

In the fourth embodiment, a rotary valve is used as the switching valve mechanism 300. That is, the lower drive unit 3
20 and the rotary unit 32 rotated by the drive unit 320
1. Housing 32 in which rotary portion 321 is stored
2 constitutes the switching valve mechanism 300 and the housing 3
A paint supply hole 323 to which the pipe 58 from the manifold 11 of the color changing valve device 10 is connected and a paint supply hole 324 to which the pipe 59 from the manifold 12 is connected are opened at 22. A paint supply hole 325 and a paint discharge hole 326 are formed 90 ° apart from 323 and 324, the paint supply hole 325 communicates with the coating machine 1, and the paint discharge hole 326 is connected to the paint supply hole 355 of the dump valve 354.
Is in communication with

On the other hand, curved passages 327 and 328 are formed in the rotary portion 321 to communicate the paint supply holes 323 and 324 with the paint supply hole 325 or the paint discharge hole 326 or to cut off all the communication. Has been established.

The dump valve 354 has a cylinder 380 formed at the distal end, a piston 381 provided in the cylinder 380, an air supply hole 382 opened at the base end of the cylinder 380, and a piston 381. An elastic member 383 is provided between the distal end surface of the cylinder 380 and the distal end surface of the cylinder 380, and a valve stem 384 is attached to the base end side of the piston 381. The valve stem 384 faces the inside of the valve chamber 385. The paint supply hole 355 is opened at 385, and a valve body 386 is attached to the tip of the valve rod 384. A valve seat 387 corresponding to the valve body 386 is provided at a paint discharge hole 390 connected to the waste liquid tank 388. ing.

Hereinafter, an example of a color changing cleaning method of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 13, the A-color paint currently supplied to one of the manifolds 11 of the color changing valve device 10 is supplied to the pipe 58, the paint supply hole 323 of the switching valve mechanism (rotary valve) 300, and the curved passage. It is assumed that the painting is performed on the vehicle body W from the painting machine 1 via the paint supply hole 325 and the paint supply hole 325.

When the application of the color A is completed, the supply of the color A paint to the one manifold is stopped, and the rotary section 321 is rotated clockwise by 90 °, so that the paint supply hole 32 is rotated.
3 is divided into a paint passage 328 and a paint supply hole 325.

Next, the coating machine 1 moves from the coating position to the original position in order to change the color to the B color. After moving to the original position, the paint passage 328 and the paint supply hole 3
The cleaning liquid supply valve and the air valve on one manifold side are alternately opened and closed, and the flow path from one manifold 11 to the coating machine 1 is cleaned. At this time, the next color B paint is supplied from the other manifold 12 to the paint passage 327 and the paint discharge hole 326 from the paint supply hole 324 by the operation of the pressure pump 61. In parallel with this, the dump valve 35
The valve body 386 and the valve seat 387 of No. 4 are opened for a certain period of time by a timer, whereby the color B becomes the other manifold, the pipe 59, the paint supply hole 324, the paint passage 327,
The filling state is reached over the paint discharge hole 326.

As a result, it becomes possible to apply the next color B paint at the same time that the coating machine 1 returns to the coating position. Next, in the case of painting the C color, after the painting machine 1 moves from the painting position to the original position, washing is performed from the B color paint supply system to the painting machine, and in parallel with this, the C color paint supply is performed. The C color paint is supplied to the system to be in a standby state.

[0071]

According to the present invention as described above,
In a multi-color coating apparatus in which a switching valve mechanism is provided in the middle of a paint supply flow path from a color changing valve device to a coating machine, and a paint supply flow path is divided into an upstream side and a downstream side, each color paint is added to the color changing valve device. At least two manifolds in parallel with a color change valve that enables the supply of a cleaning fluid and a cleaning fluid valve that enables the supply of a cleaning fluid are formed in parallel, and these manifolds and the switching valve mechanism are individually supplied with paint. They are connected by a flow path, and the switching valve mechanism is provided with a valve that turns on and off the supply of each color paint and cleaning fluid to the coating machine, so when painting the next color, the next color paint is switched to the switching valve mechanism. It is possible to supply and stand by to the portion, so that the next color paint can be sprayed immediately after the color change, compared to the related art.

Further, it is possible to further shorten the color change cleaning time as compared with the related art, and even if the actual cleaning time is lengthened and the reliable cleaning is performed, the cleaning time is not changed within the filling time for the next color. Because of the overlap, the total time is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a color changing valve device of the multicolor coating device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a switching valve mechanism of the multicolor coating apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an overall view of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a color changing valve device of a multicolor coating device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view illustrating the operation of a color changing valve (rotary valve) of the color changing valve device.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view illustrating the operation of the color changing valve (rotary valve) of the color changing valve device.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view illustrating the operation of the color changing valve (rotary valve) of the color changing valve device.

FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view illustrating the operation of a cleaning fluid valve (rotary valve) of the color changing valve device.

FIG. 10 is an overall view of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a switching valve mechanism of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an overall view of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a switching valve mechanism of a multicolor coating apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is an overall view of a conventional multicolor coating apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coating machine, 10 ... Color change valve device, 11, 12 ... Manifold, 13 ... Cleaning liquid supply hole, 14 ... Air supply hole, 1
5: paint supply hole, 16: cleaning liquid supply valve, 17: air supply valve, 18: color change valve, 20: cylinder, 21
... air supply holes, 22 ... pistons, 23 ... elastic members, 24
... valve stem, 25 ... valve chamber, 26 ... first valve body, 27 ... second valve body, 28, 29 ... valve seat, 30 ... first paint supply hole, 3
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 2nd paint supply hole, 32 ... Pump, 33 ... Regulator, 34 ... Piping, 35 ... Tank, 36, 37, 38,
39 ... piping, 40 ... pressure source, 41, 42 ... piping, 43 ...
Pump, 44 pipe, 45 tank, 50 switching valve mechanism, 51 manifold, 52, 53 trigger valve, 54, 55 dump valve, 56 cleaning liquid supply valve, 57 air supply valve, 58, 59 ... Plumbing, 60,
61 pump, 70 cylinder, 71 piston, 72
... air supply hole, 73 ... elastic member, 74 ... valve rod, 75 ... valve chamber, 76 ... valve body, 77 ... paint supply hole, 78 ... paint discharge hole, 79 ... through hole, 80 ... cylinder, 81 ... piston, 8
2 ... air supply hole, 83 ... elastic member, 84 ... valve stem, 85 ...
Valve chamber, 86: valve element, 87: paint supply hole, 88: waste liquid tank, 89 ... paint discharge hole, 90 ... cylinder, 91 ... piston, 92 ... air supply hole, 93 ... elastic member, 94 ... valve rod,
95 ... valve chamber, 96 ... valve element, 97 ... flow path, 98 ... cleaning liquid supply hole, 99 ... piping, 100 ... color changing valve device, 111,
112: manifold, 113: cleaning fluid supply hole, 11
5: paint supply hole, 116: cleaning fluid supply valve, 118
... Color changing valve, 120 ... Drive unit, 121 ... Rotary unit, 122 ... Housing, 123,124 ... Paint supply hole, 125 ... Paint supply hole, 126 ... Paint circulation hole, 127
... paint tank, 128 ... pressure pump, 129 ... regulator, 130 ... linear paint passage, 131 ... curved paint passage, 140 ... drive unit, 141 ... rotary unit, 14
2 ... housing, 143, 144 ... cleaning fluid supply hole, 1
45 ... cleaning liquid supply hole, 146 ... air supply hole, 147 ... cleaning liquid tank, 148 ... pressure pump, 149 ... air supply source, 150 ... curved paint passage, 200 ... switching valve mechanism, 252, 253 ... trigger valve, 254 , 255 ...
Dump valve, 270 ... cylinder, 271 ... piston,
272: air supply hole, 273: elastic member, 274: valve rod, 275 ... valve chamber, 276 ... valve body, 277 ... paint supply hole, 278 ... paint discharge hole, 279 ... hole, 280 ... cylinder, 281 ... piston, 282 ... air supply hole, 283 ...
Elastic member, 284: valve rod, 285 ... valve chamber, 286 ... valve element, 287 ... paint supply hole, 288 ... waste liquid tank, 289
... paint discharge hole, 300 ... switching valve mechanism, 320 ... drive unit, 321 ... rotary unit, 322 ... housing, 32
3,324: paint supply hole, 325: paint supply hole, 326
... paint discharge hole, 354 ... dump valve, 355 ... paint supply hole, 380 ... cylinder, 381 ... piston, 382 ...
Air supply hole, 383: elastic member, 384: valve stem, 385
.., Valve chamber, 386, valve element, 387, valve seat, 388, waste liquid tank, 390, paint discharge hole, W, automobile body.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hirotaka Takeguchi 1907, Hirata-cho, Suzuka-shi, Mie Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Suzuka Works F-term (reference) 4D075 AA74 DB02 DC12 4F035 AA03 BA07 BA12 BA15 BC06

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A method for supplying each color paint and a cleaning fluid to a coating machine in a paint supply flow path from a color changing valve device for selectively supplying each color paint and a cleaning fluid to a coating machine for spraying the paint on an object to be coated. In the multi-color coating apparatus provided with a switching valve mechanism for turning on and off, at least two manifolds are formed in parallel with the color changing valve apparatus, and the manifolds can supply the respective color paints. A cleaning fluid valve for supplying a cleaning fluid is attached in parallel, each manifold and the switching valve mechanism are connected by a separate paint supply flow path, and the switching valve mechanism is connected to the color changing valve device. A multicolor coating apparatus, wherein a flow path switching valve corresponding to each of the formed manifolds is provided. 2. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, among the color change valves attached to each manifold of the color change valve device, the color change valves that supply the same color paint are connected by piping. A multi-color coating apparatus characterized by being connected to form a circulation channel. 3. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning fluid valve is attached to each manifold of the color changing valve device, and these cleaning fluid valves are connected by piping, and one of the cleaning fluid valves is provided. A cleaning fluid is supplied to the other cleaning fluid valve to form a dead end flow path. 4. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of manifolds of the color changing valve device are provided.
A multicolor coating apparatus, wherein one common color change valve is attached to each color, and this color change valve is a rotary valve. 5. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning fluid valve is mounted at a most upstream position of a manifold. 6. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching valve mechanism is provided with a cleaning fluid valve that enables supply of a cleaning fluid to the coating machine side. Painting equipment. 7. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow path switching valve of the switching valve mechanism supplies each color paint and a cleaning fluid from a manifold of the color changing valve apparatus to a coating machine side. A trigger valve that turns on and off,
A multicolor coating apparatus, comprising: a dump valve that is disposed downstream of the trigger valve and sends each color paint and the cleaning fluid that have passed through the trigger valve to a waste liquid tank. 8. The multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching valve of the switching valve mechanism is a rotary valve. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the paint is sprayed from one of the manifolds of the color changing valve device. When the paint comes to the painting end position, the supply of paint to the one manifold is stopped by the color change valve device, and the supply of paint from the one manifold to the painting machine is stopped by the switching valve mechanism. Utilizing the time required for the machine to move to the cleaning position, the upstream paint supply flow path from the one manifold to the switching valve mechanism is washed, and the fluid containing the washed paint is discharged to the waste liquid tank via the switching valve mechanism. In parallel with the washing of the upstream paint supply flow path, the next color paint is supplied to another upstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold to the switching valve mechanism. Washing After switching to the position, the cleaning fluid is supplied from the switching valve mechanism to the manifold of the coating machine, and the downstream paint supply flow path from the switching valve mechanism to the coating machine is washed. Cleaning method. 10. The method for cleaning a color change of a multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paint is sprayed from one manifold of the color change valve apparatus. When the paint comes to the painting end position, the supply of paint to the one manifold is stopped by the color change valve device, and the supply of paint from the one manifold to the painting machine is stopped by the switching valve mechanism. Utilizing the time required for the machine to move to the cleaning position, the upstream paint supply flow path from the one manifold to the switching valve mechanism is washed, and the fluid containing the washed paint is discharged to the waste liquid tank via the switching valve mechanism. After the coating machine moves to the cleaning position, the switching valve mechanism supplies cleaning fluid to the manifold of the coating machine and cleans the downstream paint supply flow path from the switching valve mechanism to the coating machine. Further, in parallel with the cleaning of the downstream paint supply flow path, the next color paint is supplied to another upstream paint supply flow path from the other manifold to the switching valve mechanism. Color change cleaning method for color coating equipment. 11. A method for cleaning a color change of a multicolor coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paint is sprayed from one manifold of the color change valve apparatus. When the paint comes to the painting end position, the color changing valve device stops supplying the paint to the one manifold, and then moves upstream from the one manifold to the switching valve mechanism after the painting machine moves to the washing position. The downstream paint supply flow path from the side paint supply flow path and the switching valve mechanism to the coating machine is washed, and in parallel with the cleaning of the upstream and downstream paint supply flow paths, the switching valve mechanism is switched from the other manifold. And supplying a next color paint to another upstream paint supply channel up to the step (b). 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the paint is sprayed from one of the manifolds of the color changing valve device. When the paint comes to the painting end position, the color changing valve device stops supplying the paint to the one manifold, and then uses the time required for the coating machine to move to the washing position, from the other manifold of the color changing valve device. Supplying the next color paint to another upstream paint supply flow path leading to the switching valve mechanism, and further supplying the upstream paint from the one manifold to the switching valve mechanism after the coating machine has moved to the cleaning position. A color change cleaning method for a multicolor coating apparatus, comprising cleaning a downstream paint supply flow path from a flow path and a switching valve mechanism to a coating machine.