JP2014064990A - Device and method of collecting paint in painting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device of collecting paint in a painting system which can collect paint without dispersing fine bubbles in conjunction with air supply in the paint remaining in a paint supply pipe.SOLUTION: A paint collecting device collects paint remaining in paint supply pipes 10, 20, and includes: paint supply means 1 arranged for each painting color; first color changing means 2 which is connected to these paint supply means 1 through the paint supply pipe 10 having an opening/closing valve 8; second color changing means 3 which is connected to the first color changing means 2 through the paint supply pipe 20; air supply means 4 which is connected to the second color changing means 3 and supplies air to the paint supply pipe 20; a painting gun 5 connected to the second color changing means 3; a flowmeter 25 arranged on the air supply means 4; and control means 32 which controls the opening/closing valve 8, the first color changing means 2, and the second color changing means 3 on the basis of a flow rate detected by the flowmeter 25.

Description

  The present invention relates to a paint recovery apparatus and method for a paint system that collects paint remaining in a paint supply pipe in a paint tank in a paint system for applying various kinds of paint to a vehicle body or the like.

  When various types of painting are applied to the car body, etc., painting is performed with a painting gun attached to the tip of the arm of the painting robot. The supply of the paint to the paint gun is performed by a pressure feed pump from a paint tank provided for each paint color.

In Patent Document 1, when painting is performed, when the switching valve is switched to the pump side and the pump is operated, the paint is supplied to the paint gun through the paint feed path, and when the paint is changed in color or during painting work. When cleaning the paint supply path at the end, close the coating gun, switch the switching valve to the return path side, operate the air supply device, and supply the cleaning air to the paint supply path. A technique is disclosed that flows in the direction opposite to the direction and collects the paint remaining in the paint tank through the return path while pushing it back.

JP-A-6-277586

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the air supplied from the air supply device at the time of paint recovery is mixed with the recovered paint, flows into the paint tank via the paint return pipe, and is fine in the paint. Bubbles diffuse. The fine bubbles diffused in the paint are kept in the paint for a long time, and the paint in each paint tank is constantly circulated in the pipe by a pump to prevent the paint components from settling. Bubbles are made finer.

If the painting operation is performed with the painting gun in this state, uniform atomization cannot be performed, so that the painting pattern is disturbed and a defect that causes poor painting occurs. If some or substantially all of the recovered paint is discarded in order to prevent such problems, processing costs increase and environmental problems occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and its object is to diffuse fine bubbles accompanying air supply into the paint remaining in the paint supply pipe. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paint recovery apparatus and method for a paint system that can recover paint without any problems.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a paint recovery device for recovering paint remaining in a paint supply pipe, and is provided for each paint color comprising a paint tank, a pressure feed pump, and a pipe connecting them. Paint supply means; first color change means connected to the paint supply means via a pipe having an on-off valve; second color change means connected to the first color change means via a pipe; An air supply means for supplying air to the paint supply pipe by connecting to the two color change means, a paint gun connected to the second color change means via the pipe, a flow meter provided in the air supply means, Control means for controlling the pressure pump, the on-off valve, the first color changing means, and the second color changing means based on a flow rate detected by a flow meter is provided.

  Further, the color change valve of the second color change means connected to the air supply means is changed from the closed state to the open state, and air is supplied to the paint supply pipe, and the flow rate detected by the first flow meter becomes the set value. When it reaches, the color change valve of the second color change means is changed from the open state to the closed state, and the paint remaining in the pipe is collected in the paint tank. The paint can be circulated in the means.

  The set value of the flow meter is a value of 60% to 70% of the capacity in the pipe from the color change valve of the second color change means connected to the air supply means to the paint supply port of the first color change means. can do.

  Moreover, the adjustment pressure of the regulator with which the said air supply means is provided can be set to the range of 0.01 MPa-0.05 MPa.

The invention according to claim 5 is a paint recovery method for recovering paint remaining in the paint supply pipe, wherein the paint is changed when the paint color is changed to another color or when the paint supply pipe is cleaned. Of the air supplied into the supply pipe, only the paint pushed out by the amount of air in the paint supply pipe is collected in the paint tank.

According to the present invention, when the paint supply pipe is washed at the time of changing the color of the paint or at the end of the painting operation, the paint remaining in the paint supply pipe is surely collected in the paint tank without mixing air. .

  Further, the set value of the flow meter is set to a value of 60% to 70% of the pipe capacity from the color change valve of the second color change means connected to the air supply means to the paint supply port of the first color change means. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent air from being mixed into the recovered paint. Moreover, if the adjustment pressure of the regulator with which an air supply means is provided is set to the range of 0.01 MPa-0.05 MPa, the recovery rate of the coating material without air mixing can be improved.

The block diagram of the coating material collection | recovery apparatus of the coating system which concerns on this invention

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the paint collection apparatus of the painting system according to the present invention includes a plurality of paint supply means 1 for supplying paint of each color, a first color changing means 2 connected to these paint supply means 1, A second color changing means 3 connected to the first color changing means 2, an air supply means 4 connected to the second color changing means 3, and a coating gun 5 connected to the second color changing means 3 are provided.

  Each of the plurality of paint supply means 1 includes a pipe 9 that connects the paint tank 6 and the pressure pump 7. The pipe 9 connects the paint tank 6 and the pressure feed pump 7, and connects the paint supply pipe 10 and the paint tank 6 with the paint supply pipe 10 having the open / close valve 8 at the base end, and the paint supply pipe 10 and the paint tank 6. The paint return pipe 9b is formed, and a paint circulation pipe can be formed.

  The first color change means 2 includes a plurality of color change valves 11, air color change valves 11b, hot water color change valves 11c, and thinner for each of the plurality of paint supply means 1 connected by the paint supply pipes 10. A color change valve 11d and a paint supply port 11e are provided. The air color change valve 11 b is connected to the air supply device 12, the hot water color change valve 11 c is connected to the hot water supply device 13, and the thinner color change valve 11 d is connected to the thinner supply device 14.

Similarly to the first color change means 2, the second color change means 3 also includes a plurality of color change valves 15 to which each of the plurality of paint supply means 1 is connected by the paint supply pipe 10, an air color change valve 15b, A hot water color changing valve 15c, a thinner color changing valve 15d, and a paint supply port 15e are provided. The warm water color change valve 15 c is connected to the hot water supply device 17, and the thinner color change valve 15 d is connected to the thinner supply device 18. The paint supply port 11 e of the first color change means 2 and the color change valve 15 a of the second color change means 3 are connected by a paint supply pipe 20.

  The air supply unit 4 includes an air supply device 21, a switching valve 22, a regulator 23, and an air supply pipe 24. The regulator 23 is connected in the middle of the air supply pipe 24 branched by the switching valve 22. The switching valve 22 and the regulator 23 are connected to the air color changing valve 15 b of the second color changing means 3 by an air supply pipe 24. A flow meter 25 is installed in the air supply pipe 24 in the vicinity where the pipe from the switching valve 22 and the pipe from the regulator 23 merge.

  The painting gun 5 is attached to the tip of the arm of a painting robot (not shown), and is connected to the paint supply port 15 e of the second color changing means 3 through the trigger 27 through the paint supply pipe 28. The color change valves 11 of the paint supply means 1 and the first color change means 2 are connected to a paint supply pipe 10 having an opening / closing valve 8 at each base end.

Based on the flow rate data detected by the flow meter 25, the pressure feed pump 7, the on-off valve 8, the color change valves 11, 11b, 11c, 11d of the first color change means 2, and the color change valve of the second color change means 3 15, 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d, a switching valve 22 and a control means 32 for setting an adjustment pressure of the regulator 23 are provided.

  The set value of the flow meter 25 is the capacity in the pipe from the air color change valve 15b to the connection part of the paint supply pipe 20 to the paint supply port 11e, and the manifold 15f of the second color change means 3 and the paint supply. The capacity of the pipe 10 and the like, and the set value of the flow meter 25 is set to 60% to 70% of the capacity in the pipe in order to reliably prevent air from being mixed into the collected paint.

Moreover, the adjustment pressure of the regulator 23 is set in the range of 0.01 MPa to 0.05 MPa. When the adjustment pressure of the regulator 23 exceeds 0.05 MPa, the paint existing around the pipe is left behind, and only the paint existing in the center of the pipe is pressed by the air.

Then, the paint mixed with air at an early stage reaches the paint supply means 1 via the opening / closing valve 8 of the paint supply pipe 10 and the paint mixed with air is collected in the paint tank 6. Needs to be set to be significantly low, resulting in a problem that the paint recovery rate decreases. Moreover, when the adjustment pressure of the regulator 23 is less than 0.01 MPa, the pressing force by air is low, and the malfunction which cannot fully collect | recover coating materials arises.

And about the coating material supply means 1 which is not supplying the coating material, a coating material circulation piping is formed by the coating material discharge piping 9a and the coating material return piping 9b, and a coating material circulates through the coating material tank 6 and the pressure feed pump 7. FIG. At this time, the pressure feed pump 7 feeds the paint at a normal pressure by the control means 32.

FIG. 1 shows the state when the paint is recovered, and the arrows show the flow of air or paint. The paint return pipe 9b and the paint supply pipe 10 are in communication with each other by the open / close valve 8 of the paint supply pipe 10 connected to the corresponding paint supply means 1, and the color change valve 11 of the corresponding first color change means 2 is in the open state. The other color change valves 11, 11b, 11c, 11d are closed, the color change valve 15a of the second color change means 3 and the air color change valve 15b are open, and the other color change valves 15, 15c, 15d are Closed.

The operation of the paint recovery apparatus of the coating system according to the present invention configured as described above and the paint recovery method will be described. When a paint of a certain color is applied to the vehicle body, when the on / off valve 8 of the paint supply pipe 10 is operated by the control means 32 in the paint supply means 1 of the corresponding paint, the paint discharge pipe 9a and the first color change are made. At the same time that the paint supply pipe 10 connected to the color change valve 11 of the means 2 is in communication, the control means 32 switches the pressure feed pump 7 to high pressure.

  Next, when the corresponding color change valve 11 is changed from the closed state to the open state, the paint stored in the paint tank 6 is pumped by the pressure feed pump 7, and the color change valve 15 a of the second color change means 3, the trigger 27, etc. To the coating gun 5. Then, by opening the trigger 27, paint is sprayed from the coating gun 5 and is applied to the vehicle body. At this time, the circulation of the paint via the paint tank 6, the pressure feed pump 7, the paint discharge pipe 9a, and the paint return pipe 9b is maintained.

  Next, when the paint is to be changed to another color, the pumping pump 7 of the paint supply means 1 is stopped, the trigger 27 is closed, and the air color change valve 15b of the second color change means 3 is opened. To. Next, the control valve 22 of the air supply means 4 is operated to supply the regulated air from the air supply device 21 via the regulator 23 to the air supply pipe 24. At the same time, the on-off valve 8 is operated to bring the paint supply pipe 10 and the paint return pipe 9b into communication.

At this time, the flow rate of air supplied by the air supply unit 4 is measured by the flow meter 25, and when the flow rate of air measured by the flow meter 25 reaches a set value, the color for air of the second color changing unit 3 is used. The replacement valve 15b is closed. Then, the paint supplied to the manifold 15f of the second color changing means 3 and the paint supply pipes 10 and 20 is pushed out by the air supplied by the capacity of the set value of the flow meter 25, and the on-off valve 8 of the paint supply pipe 10 It is collected in the paint tank 6 via the paint return pipe 9b.

  Next, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the corresponding color change valve 11 is changed from the open state to the closed state, the on-off valve 8 is operated, the communication state of the paint supply pipe 10 and the paint return pipe 9b is released, and the pressure feed pump 7 is operated at the normal pressure. Operates with.

Next, the air color change valves 11b and 15b, the hot water color change valves 11c and 15c, and the thinner color change valves 11d and 15d of the first color change means 2 and the second color change means 3 are operated alternately, Cleaning of the coating gun 5 and the coating material supply pipes 20 and 28, the manifold 11f of the first color changing unit 2, the manifold 15f of the second color changing unit 3 and the like is performed using air, hot water, and thinner. At the time of cleaning, the air supply means 4 supplies air without going through the regulator 23.

According to the present invention, when the paint supply pipe is cleaned at the time of paint color change or at the end of the painting work in the coating system, the paint remaining in the paint supply pipe is prevented from entering the air and is surely placed in the paint tank. It is possible to provide a paint recovery apparatus and method for a paint system to be recovered.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paint supply means, 2 ... 1st color change means, 3 ... 2nd color change means, 4 ... Air supply means, 5 ... Paint gun, 6 ... Paint tank, 7 ... Pressure pump, 8 ... Open / close valve, 9 ... Pipe, 9a ... Paint discharge pipe, 9b ... Paint return pipe, 10, 20, 28 ... Paint supply pipe, 11, 15, 15a ... Color change valve, 11b, 15b ... Air color change valve, 11c, 15c ... For hot water Color change valve, 11d, 15d ... Color change valve for thinner, 11e, 15e ... Paint supply port, 11f, 15f ... Manifold, 13, 17 ... Hot water supply device, 14, 18 ... Thinner supply device, 21 ... Air supply device, 22 ... switching valve, 23 ... regulator, 24 ... air supply piping, 25 ... flow meter, 27 ... trigger, 32 ... control means.

Claims (5)

A paint recovery device for recovering paint remaining in a paint supply pipe, comprising a paint tank, a pressure feed pump, and a paint supply means provided for each paint color comprising a pipe connecting them, and an opening / closing valve for these paint supply means A first color changing means connected via a pipe having a second color changing means connected to the first color changing means via a pipe, and air is supplied to the paint supply pipe connected to the second color changing means. An air supply means to supply; a coating gun connected to the second color changing means via a pipe; a flow meter provided in the air supply means; the pressure feed pump based on the flow rate detected by the flow meter; A paint recovery apparatus for a coating system, comprising control means for controlling an on-off valve, the first color changing means, and the second color changing means. The paint recovery apparatus for a paint system according to claim 1, wherein the color change valve of the second color change means connected to the air supply means is changed from a closed state to an open state, and air is supplied to the paint supply pipe, When the flow rate detected by the first flow meter reaches a set value, the color change valve of the second color changing means is changed from the open state to the closed state, and the paint remaining in the pipe is collected in the paint tank for a predetermined time. A paint recovery apparatus for a paint system, wherein the on-off valve is operated after a lapse to circulate the paint in the paint supply means. 3. The paint recovery apparatus for a paint system according to claim 2, wherein the set value of the flowmeter is changed from a color change valve of the second color change means connected to the air supply means to a paint supply port of the first color change means. A paint recovery apparatus in a coating apparatus, characterized in that it has a value of 60% to 70% of the capacity in the pipe. The paint recovery apparatus for a coating system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an adjustment pressure of a regulator provided in the air supply means is set in a range of 0.01 MPa to 0.05 MPa. Paint collection device for painting system. A paint recovery method for recovering paint remaining in a paint supply pipe, wherein the air supplied to the paint supply pipe is changed when the paint color is changed to another color or when the paint supply pipe is washed. Of these, only the paint pushed out by the air corresponding to the volume in the paint supply pipe is collected in the paint tank.

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