JP2003245576A - Paint ejecting device, paint mixing device, coating device, and air spray gun - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize high color reproduction by providing a accurate mixing ratio. <P>SOLUTION: A paint mixing device 3 includes a plurality of paint cartridges 17. The paint cartridges 17 contain respective single-color paints. A paint mixing device 3 ejects a paint in a predetermined amount from each of the paint cartridges 17 for respective colors so as to give a predetermined mixing ratio. The paint cartridges 17 are housed in a carriage 12. The carriage 12 has an ink jet head 14 at its bottom. The ink jet head 14 has nozzle holes for respective colors. Paints of respective colors are ejected through the nozzle holes as paint droplets in predetermined amounts for providing a predetermined mixing ratio to an ejection face 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is to dispense and mix a predetermined amount of paint of each color from a plurality of paint accommodating chambers arranged for each color so that a specified mixing ratio is achieved. The present invention relates to a paint pouring device for pouring a predetermined amount of paint of each color so as to obtain a specified mixing ratio when a paint of a desired color is created. The present invention also relates to a paint blending device that blends paints of a plurality of colors so as to have a designated blending ratio. Further, the present invention relates to a coating apparatus that mixes paints of a plurality of colors so as to have a specified mixing ratio and then paints. In addition, the present invention further relates to an air spray gun for atomizing and ejecting paint.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a coating device for mixing and stirring two-component paint, atomizing and spraying it, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2738.
There is an air spray gun disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 389.
Further, as a liquid mixing device for mixing a plurality of liquids,
For example, there is a method in which a CCV (color change valve) that switches a flow path through which each liquid is introduced by using a solenoid valve is used to temporally switch the electromagnetic valve and mix each liquid at a predetermined mixing ratio.

[0003]

However, the conventional coating apparatus, liquid mixing apparatus, or other coating mixing means as described above is not always sufficient in terms of reproducibility of delicate color shade. That is, the blending ratio is not highly accurate and constant, and therefore, the tint is slightly different each time the blending is performed, and as a result, the coating quality may be deteriorated due to the break of the blended paint.

Therefore, the present invention has been made from such a viewpoint, and an object thereof is to realize high color reproducibility by obtaining a highly accurate mixing ratio.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the paint pouring device according to claim 1 of the present application stores a plurality of paints arranged for each color so as to have a specified mixing ratio. A paint pouring device for pouring a predetermined amount of paint of each color from a chamber, a plurality of discharge nozzles provided for each color for discharging paint as minute paint droplets, and the discharge nozzle from the paint storage chamber. And an actuator that discharges the paint droplets from the discharge nozzle by forming a pressure-up state in a part of the paint passage to a predetermined amount of paint from the paint storage chamber. It is characterized by being

According to the first aspect of the present invention, paints of a desired color are prepared by mixing paints of a plurality of colors at a predetermined mixing ratio, and when the paints are applied, it is extremely possible. High color reproducibility can be realized by a highly accurate blending ratio. That is, when a paint of a desired color is prepared by mixing paints of a plurality of colors at a predetermined mixing ratio, if the mixing ratio changes subtly each time mixing is performed, the colors of the created paints also differ slightly, and this There is a possibility that the coating quality may be deteriorated due to a slight difference in color depending on the cut of the prepared paint. However, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is configured to discharge a minute amount of paint droplets by an ink jet head which is generally used as an ink jet printer today, and thereby to pour out a predetermined amount of paint, which is extremely advantageous. An ink jet head capable of ejecting small paint droplets can control the pouring amount of a single color paint with extremely high accuracy, and thus high color reproducibility can be realized.

A paint blending apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a paint containing chamber for containing a single color paint and a plurality of the paint containing chambers arranged for each color so as to obtain a specified blending ratio. A paint blending device comprising: a paint pouring means for pouring out a predetermined amount of the paint of each color, and a paint mixing means for mixing the paints of a plurality of colors poured out by the paint pouring means,
A plurality of the paint pouring means are provided for each color, and a pressurizing state is formed in a discharge nozzle that discharges the paint as a minute paint droplet and a part of a paint passage extending from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzle. It is characterized in that a predetermined amount of paint is discharged from the paint storage chamber by an inkjet head including an actuator that discharges the paint droplet from a discharge nozzle.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the paint blending device for blending paints of a plurality of colors, the paint pouring means for pouring a predetermined amount of paint from a plurality of paint storage chambers is an ink jet head. , Claim 1 of the present application described above
Similar to the described invention, an inkjet head capable of ejecting extremely small paint droplets can control the pouring amount of a single-color paint with extremely high accuracy, thereby achieving high color reproducibility. You can

A coating apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is a paint blending apparatus that blends paints of a plurality of colors, an air spray gun that is connected to the paint blending apparatus, atomizes and sprays the blended paint, and the air. A coating device having a compressed air delivery device for delivering compressed air to a spray gun, wherein the paint blending device contains a paint containing chamber containing a single color paint, and a plurality of the paints arranged for each color. Paint mixing means that mixes a predetermined amount of paint of each color so that a specified mixing ratio is obtained from the storage chamber, and a mixture of paints of a plurality of colors that have been poured by the paint discharging means. And a plurality of the paint pouring means for each color, which discharges the paint as paint droplets, and a pressure rising state is formed in a part of the paint passage from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzle. By From serial ejection nozzle and an actuator for ejecting the coating material droplets, characterized in that the ink jet head is configured to a predetermined amount of paint from the paint chamber so as to dispense consisting.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a paint blending device for blending paints of a plurality of colors, an air spray gun for atomizing and spraying the blended color paints,
In a coating device comprising a compressed air delivery device for delivering compressed air to the air spray gun, since the paint blending device is configured to pour out and mix a predetermined amount of paint with an inkjet head, Similar to the above-mentioned invention of claim 1 of the present application, an ink jet head capable of ejecting extremely small paint droplets makes it possible to control the pouring amount of a paint of a single color with extremely high accuracy, and thus a high color Reproducibility can be realized.

The coating apparatus according to claim 4 of the present application is the same as that of claim 3.
In the above, the composition ratio is configured to be transmitted as composition ratio data from the computer device connected to the paint preparation device to the paint preparation device. According to the invention of claim 4 of the present application, the mixing ratio is
Since the computer device connected to the paint blending device is configured to send the blending ratio data to the paint blending device, the blending ratio data can be easily input by the computer device and the display device provided in the computer device. The mixed color can be easily confirmed by.

An air spray gun according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is an air spray gun that atomizes and ejects paint, and includes a paint containing chamber for containing a single color paint and a plurality of the paints arranged for each color. Paint mixing means that mixes a predetermined amount of paint of each color so that a specified mixing ratio is obtained from the storage chamber, and a mixture of paints of a plurality of colors that have been poured by the paint discharging means. A plurality of the paint pouring means for each color, which discharges the paint as minute paint droplets, and a part of the paint passage from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzle, which has a boosting state. Is configured to discharge a predetermined amount of paint from the paint storage chamber by an inkjet head including an actuator that discharges the paint droplet from the discharge nozzle by forming To.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the air spray gun for atomizing and ejecting the paint, the paint pouring means for pouring a predetermined amount of paint from a plurality of paint storage chambers is an ink jet head. Similarly to the above-mentioned invention according to claim 1, an ink jet head capable of ejecting extremely small paint droplets makes it possible to control the pouring amount of a single color paint with extremely high accuracy, and thus it is high. Color reproducibility can be realized.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the air spray gun according to the fifth aspect, the blending ratio is transmitted as blending ratio data from the computer device connected to the paint pouring means to the paint pouring means. It is characterized in that it is configured. According to the invention of claim 6, the composition ratio is configured to be transmitted as composition ratio data from the computer device connected to the paint pouring means to the paint pouring means. The mixing ratio data can be easily input by the device, and the mixing color can be easily confirmed by the display device included in the computer device.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of the "coating device" according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a coating apparatus 100 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the coating device 100 is composed of an air spray gun 1, an air compressor 2, a paint blending device 3, a control unit 4, and a computer device 5.

The air spray gun 1 is an air compressor 2 for sending compressed air to the air spray gun 1.
And a paint blending device 3 for supplying paint to the air spray gun 1 and a liquid supply tube 7. The air spray gun 1 is an air spray gun which is generally used for coating and which atomizes and ejects paint.

The paint blending device 3, which will be described in detail later, has a plurality of paint cartridges 17 (see FIG. 2) each containing a paint of a single color, and the paint cartridges 17 of the respective colors are used in accordance with a designated blending ratio. A predetermined amount of each color paint is poured out and mixed, and the air spray gun 1
Supply to. The paint blending device 3 is connected to the control unit 4 by a cable 8, and the control unit 4 controls the blending ratio of the paint, the blending amount of the paint, and the like.

The control unit 4 is connected to the computer device 5 by a cable 9, and the blending ratio data input by the computer device 5 is input to the control unit 4.

The configurations of the paint blending device 3 and the control unit 4 will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. Here, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the paint blending device 3, FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the carriage 11, FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the paint cartridge 17, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head 14. 5 is a block diagram of a control unit of the control unit 4.

In FIG. 2, the paint blending device 3 is generally composed of a main body 20 and a carriage 12. The carriage 12 includes three paint cartridges 17 inside a box body covered by the lid portion 13, and an ink jet head 14 at the bottom.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the carriage 12 has a box-shaped body having three spaces 12a and 12a.
The suction needles 15 are provided so as to project upward at the bottoms of the respective sections.
The spaces 12a, 12b, and 12c are shown in FIG.
The paint cartridge 17 shown in FIG. The paint cartridge 17 is a box-shaped body formed by molding a synthetic resin material, and has a paint storage chamber 17a (see FIG. 2) provided therein. A paint supply port 18 is provided at the bottom of the paint cartridge 17, and the opening end face of the paint supply port 4 is covered with a thin seal film 18a that is heat-welded to prevent the paint contained therein from leaking out. It has become. Then, the paint cartridge 17 is attached to the carriage 12.
When the suction needle 15 breaks through the seal film 18a (state shown in FIG. 2), the coating material can be supplied to the inkjet head 14.

In the present embodiment, the paint cartridge 17 is composed of three color paint cartridges of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), and the coating apparatus 100 has these three colors. A predetermined amount of paint is poured from a color paint cartridge so as to have a predetermined mixing ratio, and the mixture is mixed to create a paint of a desired color.

Next, an ink jet head (hereinafter referred to as "head") 14 provided on the bottom of the carriage 12.
Is an inkjet head that is generally used in inkjet printers and the like. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the head 14 has a plurality of nozzle holes 32 for each of the colors Y, M, and C, and the paint passage 31 leading to each nozzle hole 32 has a piezo actuator as an “actuator”. An element 30 is provided. As is well known, the piezo element 30 is an element which has a crystal structure which is distorted by application of a voltage and which converts electric-mechanical energy at extremely high speed. In this embodiment, by applying a voltage having a predetermined time width between the electrodes provided on both ends of the piezo element 30, the piezo element 30 is extended for the voltage application time as shown in FIG. One side wall of the passage 31 is deformed. As a result, the volume of the paint passage 31 becomes smaller according to the expansion of the piezo element 30, and a pressure increase state is formed inside the paint passage 31, and due to this pressure increase, the amount of paint corresponding to the extension of the piezo element 30 is extremely small. The paint drops P are ejected from the nozzle holes 32 at high speed.

Incidentally, like the above-mentioned piezo element 30, as a means for ejecting the paint droplet P from the nozzle hole 32 by increasing the pressure in the paint passage 31, another means, for example, a heater is provided in the paint passage 31. It is also possible to use means for heating the paint to generate bubbles in the paint passage 31 and thereby increasing the pressure in the paint passage 31 to eject the paint droplet P. That is, any material may be used as long as it can eject the extremely small paint droplet P by increasing the pressure in the paint passage 31.

Next, returning to FIG. 2, a discharge surface 21 having an inclined surface is provided so as to face the head 14, and the paint droplets of each color discharged from the head 14 collide with the discharge surface 21. Then, it flows down the discharge surface 21 into the mixing chamber 22 provided in the lower portion, and is temporarily stored in the mixing chamber 22.
A propeller 23 as a stirring means is provided in the lower part of the mixing chamber 22, and the paint flowing down into the mixing chamber 22 is stirred by the rotation of the propeller 23 and mixed,
It is supplied to the air spray gun 1 through the liquid supply tube 7 (see FIG. 1).

A liquid level sensor 24 is provided above the mixing chamber 22.
(For example, a sound wave sensor) is provided, and the mixing chamber 22
When the liquid level of the paint inside becomes lower than a certain height, this is detected and a detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 4 described later. Upon receiving the detection signal, the control unit 4 drives the head 14 to apply the paint of each color so that the specified mixing ratio is achieved and the liquid level in the mixing chamber 22 becomes a constant height. Exhale a predetermined amount.

Next, the structure of the control unit of the control unit 4 will be described with reference to FIG. Data relating to the blending ratio of the paint, more specifically, gradation value of C, M, and Y (0 to 255, respectively), is input to the control unit of the control unit 4 via the IF (interface) 40. To be done. Here, in the computer device 5, an application program for transmitting the gradation value data to the control unit 4 is operating by selecting a color sample displayed on a display device forming the computer device 5.

Subsequently, the control unit 4 operates the IF
40, RAM 41, CPU 42, head drive circuit 43, PROM 44, EEPROM 45, IF 4
6 and further connected to each other by a bus 47. The gradation value data transmitted from the computer device 5 is temporarily stored in the RAM 41 mainly used as a work area of the CPU 42 via the IF 40. PROM44 and EEPROM45,
Various control programs executed by the CPU 42 and the like are stored, read by the CPU 42 as needed, and data is written as necessary.

Next, the control unit 4 uses the IF4
Data is transmitted / received to / from the paint blending device 3 via 6 to drive and control the head 14. That is, the head drive circuit 43 of the control unit 4 drives the head 14 under the control of the CPU 42 to eject the paint droplet from the specific nozzle hole 32 (see FIG. 4) a predetermined number of times. Here, the CPU 42
Is C discharged by driving the head 14,
By monitoring the total number of discharged M and Y paint droplets, the remaining paint amount of the paint cartridge 17 of each color is monitored,
Data concerning the remaining amount of the paint is written in the EEPROM 45. This makes it possible to detect that the paint cartridge 17 has become empty in the computer device 5 and prompt the user to replace the paint cartridge 17.

Further, the detection signal of the liquid level sensor 24 (see FIG. 2) is input from the paint mixing device 3 to the control unit 4 via the IF 46. The CPU 42 determines whether or not to drive the head 14 by detecting the detection signal from the liquid level sensor 24. Liquid level sensor 24
When "low liquid level" is detected by the detection signal of
4 is driven to discharge the paint droplets of each color so that the specified mixing ratio is achieved, and conversely, when the "liquid level height" is detected, the head 14
Stop driving.

The coating apparatus 100 configured as described above is
The head 14 that discharges extremely small paint droplets enables highly accurate control of the amount of paint of each color. In other words, it is possible to control the predetermined mixing ratio, that is, the mixing ratio of the C, M, and Y color paints with high accuracy by the "paint-pouring device" that pours the paint with the head 14 with high accuracy. Therefore, high color reproducibility can be realized.

That is, when a paint of a desired color is prepared by mixing paints of a plurality of colors at a predetermined mixing ratio, if the mixing ratio changes subtly at each mixing, the color of the blended paint is delicately changed. However, since the coating apparatus 100 controls the pouring amount with the head 14 with high accuracy as described above, the coating quality is not deteriorated. In addition, as mentioned above, there is no need to prepare a large amount of paint at one time because of fear of subtle changes in the mixing ratio, and it is possible to prepare only the required amount of paint each time, thus avoiding wasting paint. The effect can be obtained.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a side view (partially sectional view) of a coating apparatus according to another embodiment, more specifically, an air spray gun 100a. In FIG. 6, the air spray gun 100a is an air spray gun body 1a.
Is provided with a paint blending device 3a. The paint blending device 3a has almost the same configuration as the paint blending device 3 shown in FIG. 2, and the constituent elements having the same functions as those of the paint blending device 3a are denoted by the same reference numerals (therefore, the description thereof will be made below). Is omitted). In the air spray gun 100a, the lower portion of the main body portion 20a of the paint blending device 3a is fitted to the upper portion of the air spray gun main body 1a. Body 2
0a has a mixing chamber 22 defined therein, a communication hole 25 is formed in a lower portion of the mixing chamber 22, and a mixing chamber 2 is provided in a paint introducing hole 1b formed in an upper portion of the air spray gun body 1a.
The paint flows from 2a.

By thus integrally forming the paint blending device 3a and the air spray gun body 1a, the air spray gun 100a as a coating device has improved portability and is easy to carry. Further, since the liquid feeding tube 7 is not used, the amount of unnecessary paint can be reduced.

The coating device 100 and the air spray gun 100a described above are merely examples, and any other structure may be adopted as long as the head 14 is used to precisely discharge and mix paint droplets. It is possible. For example, the computer device 5 and the control unit 4 shown in FIG. 1 may be integrated. In this case, the control unit 4 is provided with a gradation value input means (for example, a rotary type adjustment dial) for inputting the gradation values of each of C, M, and Y colors with buttons or the like, and the gradation value input means directly outputs the gradation value. It can also be configured to specify a key value.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a coating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a paint blending device according to the present invention.

3A is a perspective view of a carriage, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a paint cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an inkjet head.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control unit of the control unit.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view (configuration diagram) of a coating apparatus (air spray gun) according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 air spray gun 2 Air compressor 3 paint mixing equipment 4 control unit 5 Computer equipment 12 carriage 14 inkjet head 17 ink cartridges 20 body 21 Discharge surface 22 Mixing chamber 23 Liquid level sensor 24 propeller 30 piezo element 31 paint passage 32 nozzle holes 100, 100a coating equipment

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 4D073 AA01 BB03 CA01 CA04                 4F033 QA01 QB02Y QB03X QB12Y                       QB18 QD02 QD06 QD11 QD14                       QE06 QE21 QF03X QF12X                       QF23 QK03X QK23X QK27X                 4J038 LA06

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A paint pouring device for pouring a predetermined amount of paint of each color from a plurality of paint accommodating chambers arranged for each color so as to obtain a specified blending ratio. A plurality of discharge nozzles that discharge the paint as minute paint droplets, and a pressure increase state is formed in a part of the paint passage from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzle to discharge the paint droplets from the discharge nozzle. A paint pouring device characterized in that a predetermined amount of paint is poured from the paint containing chamber by an inkjet head including an actuator. 2. A predetermined amount of paint of each color is poured from a paint containing chamber containing a single color paint and a plurality of paint containing chambers arranged for each color so as to obtain a specified mixing ratio. A paint blending device comprising: a paint pouring means for discharging; and a paint mixing means for mixing paints of a plurality of colors poured by the paint pouring means, wherein the paint pouring means is provided for each color. A plurality of discharge nozzles that discharge the paint as minute paint droplets, and an actuator that discharges the paint droplets from the discharge nozzle by forming a pressure rising state in a part of the paint passage from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzle A paint blending device configured to dispense a predetermined amount of paint from the paint containing chamber by an inkjet head including 3. A paint blending device for blending paints of a plurality of colors, an air spray gun which is connected to the paint blending device and atomizes and sprays the blended paints, and compressed air is sent to the air spray gun. A coating device having a compressed air delivery device, wherein the paint blending device is designated by a paint containing chamber containing a single color paint and a plurality of paint containing chambers arranged for each color. A paint pouring means for pouring a predetermined amount of each color paint so as to obtain a ratio, and a paint mixing means for mixing the paints of a plurality of colors poured by the paint pouring means, the paint A plurality of pouring means are provided for each color, and a discharge nozzle that discharges the paint as a paint droplet, and a pressure rising state is formed in a part of the paint passage from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzle. Paint An actuator for ejecting droplets, and is configured to a predetermined amount of paint so as to dispense from the paint chamber by the ink jet head consisting of, that coating apparatus according to claim. 4. The blending ratio according to claim 3, wherein the blending ratio is transmitted as blending ratio data from the computer device connected to the paint blending device to the paint blending device. Coating equipment. 5. An air spray gun for atomizing and ejecting paint, comprising a paint containing chamber containing a single color paint and a plurality of paint containing chambers arranged for each color, and a designated mixing ratio. And a paint mixing means for mixing the paints of a plurality of colors poured out by the paint pouring means, the paint pouring means for pouring a predetermined amount of each color paint A plurality of discharge means are provided for each color, and discharge nozzles that discharge the paint as minute paint droplets, and by forming a pressure rising state in a part of the paint passage from the paint storage chamber to the discharge nozzles, An air spray gun characterized in that a predetermined amount of paint is poured out from the paint storage chamber by an inkjet head including an actuator that discharges the paint droplet. 6. The composition according to claim 5, wherein the blending ratio is transmitted as blending ratio data from the computer device connected to the paint pouring means to the paint pouring means. Air spray gun to be.