JP2005066593A - Coating apparatus and coating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating apparatus capable of dispensing with washing work at the time of replacement of a coating material cartridge. <P>SOLUTION: The coating apparatus is equipped with a coating gun 4, which has a coating discharge port 42 and an atomized air discharge port 44 formed in the vicinity of the coating discharge port 42 and ejects compressed air from the atomized air discharge port 44, a container body 20 and the coating material cartridge 1 equipped with a coating discharge nozzle 23 extending from the bottom part of the container body 20. The coating cartridge 1 is mounted on the coating gun 4 in a freely detachable manner so that the tip of the coating discharge nozzle 23 almost coincides with the coating discharge port 42. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method, and more particularly to a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of performing a painting operation while sequentially replacing a paint cartridge.

  Conventionally, in the construction of a toning database for CCM (Computer Color Matching) for obtaining paint composition from colorimetric data, the creation of progress boards in small-scale toning work, and in the shipping inspection business such as paint manufacturing industry, An enormous number of coating plates made of various colors or types of paints are created, and colorimetry and coating evaluation are performed. In this way, when painting using paints of different types and colors, the paint remaining at the time of paint replacement becomes a problem, so the residual paint was reduced by detachably attaching the paint cartridge to the paint gun. A coating apparatus has been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  However, the coating apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a paint cartridge is attached to the connecting portion of the paint gun main body, and the paint supplied to the paint gun main body is ejected by compressed air. It is essential to clean the painting gun body in Japan.

  In addition, the coating apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is configured such that a paint nozzle provided in the paint cartridge guides the paint toward a bell head provided at the tip of the paint gun body, and the rotation of the bell head Thus, the paint is atomized and sprayed by a shaping air flow. However, even in this coating apparatus, since the paint adheres to the bell head, it is necessary to clean the bell head and the tip of the paint nozzle by spraying a cleaning thinner from a cleaning nozzle provided in the coating gun body.

  As described above, the conventional cartridge type coating apparatus requires a cleaning operation of the coating gun main body when the coating material is replaced. Therefore, there is room for further improvement in that such a complicated operation is unnecessary.

Also, devices disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4 are known as devices for automatically replacing a paint cartridge mounted on a paint gun body. The automatic painting apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 can automatically wash the paint adhering to the bell head when the paint cartridge is replaced. The problem has not been resolved.
JP-A-11-347462 JP-A-8-229446 JP 2000-176333 A JP 2003-93932 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method that can eliminate a cleaning operation when replacing a paint cartridge.

  The object of the present invention includes a paint discharge port and an atomizing gas discharge port formed in the vicinity of the paint discharge port, a coating gun capable of ejecting pressurized gas from the atomization gas discharge port, a container body, A paint cartridge having a paint discharge nozzle extending from the bottom of the container body, and the paint cartridge is detachably attached to the paint gun so that a tip of the paint discharge nozzle substantially coincides with the paint discharge port. This is achieved by the painting equipment.

  In addition, the object of the present invention is to provide a paint gun having a paint discharge port and an atomizing gas discharge port formed in the vicinity of the paint discharge port, and a paint having a container main body and a paint discharge nozzle extending from the bottom of the container main body. A mounting step for detachably mounting the cartridge so that a tip of the paint discharge nozzle substantially coincides with the paint discharge port; and a discharge of the pressurized gas from the atomizing gas discharge port to discharge the cartridge from the paint discharge port. And a painting step comprising atomizing and painting the paint to be applied.

  According to the coating apparatus and the coating method of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the cleaning work when replacing the paint cartridge.

  Hereinafter, actual forms of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Drawing 1 is a figure for explaining an example of the painting method using the painting device concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of paint cartridges 1 are respectively stored in a cartridge stocker 2. Each paint cartridge 1 has a mechanism capable of discharging the paint 25 by a pressurizing mechanism, and includes a cylindrical container body 20 that houses the paint 25, and a pressurized gas supply port 22 that is attached to the top of the container body 20. , A paint discharge nozzle 23 extending from the bottom of the container main body 20, and a movable plug 24 slidable along the inner peripheral surface of the container main body 20. The cap 21 is detachable from the container main body 20, and the movable plug 24 is pressed downward by sending compressed air from the pressurized gas supply port 22, and the paint 25 in the container main body 20 is pushed out from the paint discharge nozzle 23. Can do.

  The movable stopper 24 provided in the coating material cartridge 1 is not necessarily required, and a configuration without the movable stopper 24 is also possible (see FIG. 2). In this case, it is desirable to attach a check valve (not shown) to the cap 21 in order to prevent the paint contained in the container body 20 from flowing out.

  The material of the container body 20, the cap 21, and the nozzle 23 is not particularly limited as long as it has good dimensional stability and is not affected by contamination of the paint, and plastic, metal, or the like can be applied. As the paint cartridge 1, for example, a commercially available syringe container can be used with the cap 21 attached.

  The paint cartridge 1 is automatically mounted on the paint gun 4 by the multi-axis robot 3. In FIG. 1, a multi-axis robot 3 is a transporting XY robot having a mechanism capable of moving the grip units 30 and 31 up and down. The multi-axis robot 3 grips a desired paint cartridge 1 from the cartridge stocker 2 and attaches it to the paint gun 4. The paint cartridge 1 that has been painted can be gripped again, and the paint cartridge 1 can be collected and replaced. Thereby, for example, the color change coating can be easily performed by filling the plurality of paint cartridges 1 accommodated in the cartridge stocker 2 with paints of different colors.

  The multi-axis robot that can be used in the present embodiment is not limited to the XY robot as long as it is a transfer robot having a gripping function, and for example, an arm type material handling robot can also be used.

  The coating gun 4 according to the present embodiment is a spray gun configured to be detachable from the coating material cartridge 1, and can be moved onto the workpiece 9 by a coating gun driving multi-axis robot 5 as shown in FIG. 1. It is configured as follows. The painting gun 4 is configured to be detachable from the painting gun driving multi-axis robot 5, and the painting gun 4 having a different body size can be selected as appropriate and attached to the painting gun driving multi-axis robot 5.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a painting apparatus in which the paint cartridge 1 is mounted on the paint gun 4. As shown in FIG. 2, an insertion hole 41 is formed in the lower part of the coating gun 4, and the paint cartridge 1 is attached to the coating gun 4 by inserting the paint discharge nozzle 23 into the insertion hole 41. This is done by making the tip of the nozzle 23 substantially coincide with the paint discharge port 42 at the lower end of the insertion hole 41.

  The coating gun 4 includes a quick connector 37 that is inserted into the pressurized gas supply port 22 of the coating material cartridge 1. The quick connector 37 is connected to the pressurizing and sucking device 35 via an air pipe, and is supported by an air cylinder with a rotation mechanism attached to the coating gun 4 so as to be movable up and down and rotatable. The pressure suction device 35 can supply compressed air to the paint cartridge 1 and suck air in the paint cartridge 1 by operating a switch.

  Moreover, the coating gun 4 is provided with the atomization gas inlet 43 which can introduce pressurized gas, such as compressed air, from a pressurized gas supply source (not shown). The compressed air supplied to the atomizing gas introduction port 43 is ejected from an atomizing gas discharge port 44 formed so as to surround the paint discharge port 42 in the vicinity of the periphery of the paint discharge port 42.

  According to the coating gun 4 configured as described above, after the paint cartridge 1 is accommodated by the operation of the multi-axis robot 3, the quick connector 37 is moved to above the pressurized gas supply port 22 by the operation of the air cylinder 36 with a rotating mechanism. By rotating and lowering, the lower end of the quick connector 37 is attached to the pressurized gas supply port 22 and the paint cartridge 1 is sealed.

  Next, the pressurized suction device 35 is operated to supply compressed air to the inside of the coating material cartridge 1, and compressed air is supplied through the atomizing gas introduction port 43. The paint 25 contained in the paint cartridge 1 is pressurized by the supplied compressed air, discharged from the paint discharge port 42, mixed with the compressed air ejected from the atomizing gas discharge port 44, becomes a mist, Sprayed on the painted surface.

  After the coating is performed in this manner, the supply of the paint 25 from the paint discharge port 42 is stopped by operating the switch of the pressure suction device 35 to suck the air in the paint cartridge 1. Thus, by making the inside of the paint cartridge 1 have a negative pressure, it is possible to reliably prevent the paint from flowing out immediately after the supply is stopped. Thereafter, the supply of compressed air to the atomizing gas inlet 43 is also stopped.

  Next, the quick connector 37 is retracted from the position above the pressurized gas supply port 22 by rotating the air cylinder 36 with a rotating mechanism to raise the quick connector 37 and then rotating it. Then, as described above, the paint cartridge 1 is replaced by the operation of the multi-axis robot 3.

  According to the coating apparatus of this embodiment, since the paint is atomized by supplying compressed air from the vicinity of the periphery of the tip of the paint discharge nozzle 23 that supplies the paint 25, the paint is discharged after the coating is completed. The paint adhering to the vicinity of the tip of the nozzle 23 can be reliably removed by blowing it off with compressed air. Therefore, it is not necessary to clean the coating gun 4 when replacing a large number or variety of paint cartridges 1, the paint cartridge 1 can be replaced easily and quickly, and the waste solvent can be removed. Reduction and improvement of painting environment are possible.

  In addition, when used to create a coating plate (progress plate) in toning work, by adjusting the amount of paint filled in the paint cartridge, or by selecting a body-sized paint gun that matches the cartridge capacity, The use efficiency of the paint can be increased.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view for explaining an example of the entire process including the coating process using the above-described coating apparatus. The paint cartridge 1 stored in the cartridge stocker 2 is gripped by the multi-axis robot 3 for transportation, transported into the coating booth 6 and mounted on the coating gun 4 (see FIG. 2). In the painting booth 6, the painting gun 4 to which the coating cartridge 1 is mounted is supported by a painting gun driving multi-axis robot 5, and strokes on the article 9 such as a tin plate by the movement by the robot to perform painting. After the painting is finished, the paint cartridge 1 is removed from the paint gun 4 by holding the multi-axis robot 3 for transportation, returned to the cartridge stocker 2, and the paint cartridge 1 of the next paint color is gripped. Painting is done.

  The multi-axis robot 8 for transporting sequentially holds the objects to be coated 9 from the coating plate stocker 7 storing the plurality of objects 9 to be gripped, and sets them at the painting position in the painting booth 6. After that, it is sequentially gripped, transported and stored in the coating plate buffer 10 for setting the coating plate which is the object 9 to be coated. The coated plates that have been set are sequentially mounted on the conveyor 11 of the dryer 11 and dried for a predetermined time. The dried coated plates are sequentially transported and stored in the coated plate buffer 14 for cooling to room temperature. The transport multi-axis robot 13 grips the coated plate whose temperature has been lowered to room temperature in the coated plate buffer 14, transports it to the coated plate evaluation device 15, and sets it. The coating plate evaluation device 15 is provided with a suitably selected color meter (spectrophotometer), DOI meter (sharpness evaluation meter), and the like, and the coating plate is sequentially evaluated. The coated plates after the evaluation are sequentially conveyed to the coated plate stocker 18 and stored.

  According to such a series of steps, it is possible to easily perform color change coating by filling the plurality of paint cartridges 1 with paints of different paint colors, and to easily evaluate the paint state. it can. In addition, since it can be automated from creation to evaluation of a coated plate, it is particularly useful for labor saving and unmanned color change painting and evaluation such as construction of a toning database and small-scale toning work.

  The coating apparatus and the coating method of the present invention can be used not only for automatic coating using a multi-axis robot, but also for hand-blown coating in which a coating operator himself replaces a coating cartridge. When the present invention is used for hand-blown coating, it is very useful not only for coating materials but also for coating caulking agents and putty materials.

  In addition, the present invention provides a huge number of coatings with a large number of colors or various types of paints and inks, particularly in toning work in automobile repair coating, etc., and also in toning database creation and shipping inspection work in paint and ink manufacturing industries. It is very useful for applications where plates are made and used for colorimetry and evaluation tests.

It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the coating method using the coating device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the coating device shown in FIG. It is a schematic plan view for demonstrating an example of the whole process including the coating process using the coating device shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paint cartridge 4 Coating gun 20 Container body 22 Pressurized gas supply port 23 Paint discharge nozzle 35 Pressurization suction device 37 Quick connector 41 Insertion hole 42 Paint discharge port 44 Atomization gas discharge port

Claims (9)

A paint gun comprising a paint discharge port and an atomized gas discharge port formed in the vicinity of the paint discharge port, and capable of jetting pressurized gas from the atomized gas discharge port;
A paint body including a container body and a paint discharge nozzle extending from the bottom of the container body,
The paint cartridge is detachably attached to the paint gun such that the tip of the paint discharge nozzle substantially coincides with the paint discharge port. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paint cartridge includes an insertion hole into which the paint discharge nozzle is inserted. The said coating material cartridge is a coating device of Claim 1 provided with the pressurized gas inlet which can introduce | transduce pressurized gas into the said container main body. A pressure suction device connected to the pressurized gas inlet;
The coating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pressure suction device supplies pressurized gas to the paint cartridge and sucks air in the paint cartridge. It is connected to the pressurized suction device via a pipe, and further comprises a connector attached to the pressurized gas inlet from above,
The coating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the connector is supported so as to be vertically movable and rotatable. A paint gun comprising a paint discharge port and an atomizing gas discharge port formed in the vicinity of the paint discharge port, a paint cartridge comprising a container main body and a paint discharge nozzle extending from the bottom of the container main body, and a tip of the paint discharge nozzle A mounting step for detachably mounting so as to substantially match the paint discharge port;
A coating method comprising: a coating step of atomizing and coating the paint discharged from the paint discharge port by ejecting pressurized gas from the atomized gas discharge port. The paint cartridge includes a pressurized gas introduction port capable of introducing a pressurized gas into the container body,
The coating method according to claim 6, wherein the coating step includes a step of discharging a paint from the paint discharge port by introducing a pressurized gas into the paint cartridge from the pressurized gas introduction port. The paint step includes a step of stopping the discharge of the paint from the paint discharge port by sucking air in the paint cartridge through the pressurized gas introduction port at the end of painting. Painting method. The coating method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of, after the coating step, removing the coating cartridge from the coating gun and mounting a new coating cartridge containing a coating of a different type or color on the coating gun. .

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