JP3111902B2 - Paint supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paint supply apparatus for supplying a multi-color paint, including a special color paint, to a paint gun used for painting an automobile through a color change valve.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For painting automobiles, especially for painting in small quantities, a painting system is used in which painting is automatically supplied by supplying the paint to a coating gun such as a rotary atomizing electrostatic painting device of an automatic painting machine by a pressurized tank. Are often adopted.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a conventional paint supply apparatus in a coating apparatus for an automobile adopting such a coating method, particularly in a coating apparatus for coating in a small quantity. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes an automobile to be coated housed in a painting booth (not shown), and 1 denotes a rotary atomizing electrostatic coating apparatus that sprays paint on the outer surface of the automobile, that is, a coating gun.

[0004] 2 is a color change valve (hereinafter abbreviated as CCV) for changing the color of the paint. 3 is a paint pipe through which paints of a plurality of paint colors are respectively supplied from a paint circulation device. The paint of the paint color is
And supply it to the coating gun 1.

[0005] The CCV 2 is connected to a thinner pipe 4 for introducing a cleaning thinner for cleaning the inside of the paint pipe 8 from the CCV 2 to the coating gun 1 and an air pipe 5 for introducing extrusion air. ing. Further, the CC
V2 is configured to supply a desired paint, thinner, or air to the paint gun by a switching valve provided therein by an air signal transmitted from a control unit of a color changing device (not shown). .

[0006] Reference numeral 6 denotes a pressurized feed tank containing a paint of a paint color for small-scale production. The inside of the pressurized feed tank 6 is maintained at a predetermined pressure, and the CCV is supplied via a paint hose 7.
2 are connected. When the paint hose 7 to the pressurized feed tank 6 is connected to the paint pipe 8 on the paint gun side by switching the CCV 2, the paint of the small production color in the pressurized feed tank 6 is pressurized in the pressurized tank 6. As a result, the paint is supplied to the paint gun 1 via the paint hose 7, the CCV 2 and the pipe 8, and is coated on the surface of the automobile 1 to be coated.

[0007]

In the above-described coating apparatus, when performing the color change of the small-scale production coating color as described above, the automatic coating apparatus is stopped, and the pressure feed tank 6 is washed. A cleaning thinner is put into the pressure feeding tank 6, and the thinner is used to remove the CC from the pressure feeding tank 6 via the paint hose 7.
The paint flow path to V2 is manually cleaned.

That is, when performing color change of the paint color for small-quantity production, the paint flow path from the CCV 2 to the paint gun 1 through the paint pipe 8 is switched to the connection of the CCV 2 switching valve to the thinner pipe 4. By flowing the paint from the CCV 2 to the paint gun 1 through the paint pipe 8, the washing can be performed without stopping the automatic painting apparatus. However, the washing of the paint flow path from the pressure feed tank 6 through the paint hose 7 to the CCV 2 can be performed. Must be done manually, with the automatic coating equipment stopped as described above. For this reason, color change during the production operation of the automobile becomes impossible, and it is inevitable that the productivity of the automobile is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to perform a color change operation of a small amount of coating color without stopping an automatic coating apparatus, to shorten the color change operation time, and to improve the efficiency of the coating operation.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problems and is characterized by a main paint supply source capable of supplying paints of a plurality of paint colors, A color change valve which is interposed between the main paint supply source and the coating gun and is connected to a first cleaning fluid supply pipe to which a cleaning fluid is supplied; And a special color paint supply source capable of supplying a special color paint, wherein the main paint supply source is connected to the color change valve for each coating color, and the color change valve is connected to each of the main paint supply sources. A paint supply device configured to be selectively switchable to supply one of a paint color, the special paint and the cleaning fluid to the paint gun;
A first switching valve interposed between the special color paint supply source and the color change valve and connected to a second cleaning fluid supply pipe to which a cleaning fluid is supplied; A second switching valve provided at a connection portion of the first switching valve and having a waste liquid port, wherein the first switching valve is in a first state for connecting the special color paint supply source and the color change valve; And a second state in which the second cleaning fluid supply pipe and the color change valve are connected to each other, and a third state in which the second cleaning fluid supply pipe is connected to the special color paint supply source. The second switching valve is configured to selectively switch between a first state in which the first switching valve and the color change valve are connected and a second state in which the first switching valve is connected to the waste liquid port. Configured to be switchable Suggest paint supply apparatus characterized and.

[0011] Such According to the invention, the pipe is conventional color change bar extending from the color change valve to the spray gun
The cleaning can be performed with the cleaning liquid from the first cleaning fluid supply pipe on the lube side . The switching of the first switching valve to the second state, the first
2 wherein the cleaning liquid from the cleaning fluid supply pipe is supplied via a first switching valve and piping leading to the color change valve from the first switching valve by supplying to the color change valve side
Cleaning can be performed with the cleaning liquid from the second cleaning fluid supply pipe . Further, the first switching valve is switched to the third state, and the second switching valve is switched to the second state .
By supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning fluid supply pipe to the special color paint supply source side, the piping from the first switching valve to the special color paint supply source is connected to the second cleaning fluid supply pipe via the first switching valve. It can be washed with a washing solution. And supplying the second cleaning fluid when the first switching valve is switched to the second state.
The waste liquid of the washing liquid from the pipe can be discharged from the waste liquid port side by switching the second switching valve provided at the connection of the first switching valve of the special color paint system of the color change valve to the second state, The cleaning of the special paint supply system side can be performed independently of the main paint system.

Therefore, even during the main paint painting operation in which the main paint is flowing downstream of the color change valve, the piping between the special color paint supply source and the color change valve can be washed, so that the painting operation can be performed without interruption. Color change of paint can be performed efficiently. After Matairo replacement switches the first switching valve to the first state for connecting the feature paint supply source and the said color change valve, the further the second switching valve, the
A second connecting the first switching valve and the color change valve.
By switching to the one state , the special color paint can be supplied to the coating gun side.

That is, according to the present invention, by appropriately switching between the first switching valve and the second switching valve, it is possible to wash and change the color of the special color paint without stopping the automatic coating apparatus.

Further, the special color paint supply source is provided in a tank in which a paint container containing the special color paint is pressurized, and the other end of a paint pipe connected to the first switching valve is connected. It is good to configure. Accordingly, when the color of the special color paint is changed, it is sufficient to replace the paint container containing the paint, and it is not necessary to wash the pressure feeding tank.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be illustratively described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, and are merely illustrative examples. Only.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a paint supply device for automotive coating according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a plurality of rotary atomizing electrostatic coating devices, that is, coating guns for spraying a coating material on an outer surface of a vehicle to be coated 100 (see FIG. 2). Reference numeral 2 denotes a color change valve (hereinafter abbreviated as CCV) for changing the color of the paint. The CCV 2 is supplied with paint of a plurality of paint colors from a paint circulation device (not shown) through a paint supply pipe 3. Have been. Reference numeral 8 denotes a paint pipe connected to the outlet of the CCV 2 and each paint gun 1.

The CCV 2 is connected to a thinner pipe 4 and an air pipe 5 into which a cleaning thinner for cleaning the paint flow path from the CCV 2 via the paint pipe 8 to each of the paint guns 1 is introduced. The CCV 2 is configured to supply a desired paint, thinner or air to the paint gun 1 by a switching valve provided therein by an air signal transmitted from a control unit of a color changing device (not shown). Have been.

A sealed tank 60 is a pressure feeding tank. In the pressure feeding tank 60, a paint can 61 containing a small amount of paint of a production color is provided in a normal state, and is a double container. Reference numeral 16 denotes an air supply pipe for introducing pressurized air into the pressure feeding tank 60. In addition, the paint can 6
Reference numeral 1 denotes an opening in the pressure feed tank 60 so that the pressurized air acts on the liquid level of the paint inside, and the pressurized air supplies the paint to a paint feed pipe 7 described later.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a paint feed pipe having one end inserted into the paint in the paint can 61, 11 denotes a paint hose made of a resin material such as Teflon material, and 12 denotes the other end of the paint feed pipe 7 and the paint hose 11. A first switching valve 14 is provided at a connection with one end of the paint hose 14, a waste pipe 14 having one end connected to the waste liquid port 14 a, 13 is integrally incorporated into the CCV 2, and the other end of the paint hose 11 and a waste liquid pipe 14. A second switching valve provided at a connection with the other end of the second switching valve.

The first switching valve 12 is a multi-way switching valve to which the air pipe 15 and the thinner pipe 17 are connected in addition to the paint feed pipe 7 and the paint hose 11, and is provided by a switching control device (not shown). In accordance with the switching command signal, the supply of small-volume paint or the cleaning of the paint system is switched by an operation described later. That is, specifically, the first switching valve 12 is connected to the second switching valve 1 incorporated in the CCV 2 from the pressure feed tank 60.
A first state in which the pressure feed tank 60 and the CCV 2 are connected, and a second state in which the thinner pipe 17 of the first switching valve 12 and the paint hose 11 are connected. And a third state in which the thinner pipe 17 of the first switching valve 12 and the paint feed pipe 7 are connected can be selectively switched.

The second switching valve 13 is connected to the paint hose 11 and the paint pipe 8 on the paint gun 1 side through the CCV 2.
And a three-way valve for switching the connection with the waste liquid pipe 14. More specifically, the second switching valve 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a first state connecting the first switching valve 12 and the CCV 2.
And a second connecting the first switching valve 12 and the waste liquid pipe 14.
State can be selectively switched.

A description will now be given of the color change of the small-scale production paint color in the paint supply apparatus configured as described above and the cleaning action accompanying the color change.

(1) First, the CCV 2 is switched to the connection between the air pipe 5 and the thinner pipe 4 and the paint pipe 8 in response to an operation signal from a color change, washing control device (not shown), and the second switching valve 13 is closed on the CCV 2 side. And the thinner flows from the air pipe 5 and the thinner pipe 4 through the CCV 2 through the air through the CCV 2 and into the paint pipe 8, respectively.
The system (A) from the CV 2 to the paint gun 1 via the paint pipe 8 is automatically cleaned.

(2) Next, the pressurized air in the pressure feed tank 60 is released to atmospheric pressure, and the paint feed pipe 7 is opened together with the lid 60a.

(3) The first switching valve 12 is switched from the first state to the second state in which the air pipe 15 and the thinner pipe 17 of the first switching valve 12 are connected to the paint hose 11, and the second switching valve is switched. 13, the paint hose 11 and the waste liquid pipe 14
Preparative switched to the second state to connect the paint hose 11 thinner with each air from the air tube 15 and the thinner tube 12 through the first switching valve, flow further into the second switching valve 13 waste pipe 14 via, The path (B) from the first switching valve 12 to the second switching valve 13 via the paint hose 11 is cleaned.

(4) Next, the first switching valve 12 is switched from the second state to the third state in which the paint pipe 7 is connected to the air pipe 15, the thinner pipe 17, and the thinner is turned on through the air. It flows into the paint feed pipe 7 via the first switching valve 12 to clean the system (C).

(5) The paint can 61 housed in the pressure feed tank 60 is replaced with a paint can 61 for the next paint (color change paint).

[0028] (6) the first switch valve 12, the pumping capacitor
Link 60 through the paint feed pipe 7 and the paint hose 11
Switch to the first state connected to CCV2 and switch to the second state
The valve 13 is connected to the paint hose 11 via the CCV 2 by the paint gun.
The state is switched to the first state connected to the paint pipe 8 on the first side. Then, the lid 60a of the pressure feed tank 60 is closed, and the other end of the paint feed pipe 7 is inserted into the paint can 61. Then, the air supply pipe 16 is connected to the pressure feed tank 60, and the pressure feed tank 60 is pressurized. The new paint (color change paint) in 61 is filled into the system route C → B → A to prepare for jetting from the coating gun 1, at which time the color change is performed upstream of the second switching valve 13 of the CCV 2. Therefore, the coating can be performed in a state where a plurality of paints are supplied from the paint circulation device (not shown) through the paint supply can 3.

After the special color coating after the color changing operation is performed, when the color is changed to another paint, the above (2) to (2) to
The operation of (6) is repeated. As a result, it is possible to continuously perform the washing and the color change of a small amount of coating colors for a plurality of coating colors without stopping the automatic coating device.

[0030]

According to the present invention, the first and second switching valves are provided between the special-color paint supply path and the cleaning fluid or the like, so that the special-color paint can be washed and the color changed without stopping the automatic coating apparatus. (During production operation), and a reduction in man-hours for color changing work can be realized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the paint container is set in the pressurized tank, it is not necessary to wash the tank at the time of color change, thereby facilitating the color change operation and reducing the number of work steps. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an automotive paint supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of a conventional paint supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Painting gun 2 Color change valve (CCV) 4, 17 Thinner pipe 5, 15 Air pipe 7 Paint feed pipe 8 Paint pipe 11 Paint hose 12 First switching valve 13 Second switching valve 14 Waste pipe 60 Pressure tank 61 Paint can 100 Painted car

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main paint supply source capable of supplying paints of a plurality of paint colors, a paint gun for ejecting paint, a cleaning fluid interposed between the main paint supply source and the paint gun, A color change valve connected to a first cleaning fluid supply pipe through which the liquid is supplied, and a special color paint supply source connected to the color change valve and capable of supplying a special color paint. Each time it is connected to the above color change valve, the same color change valve,
A paint supply device configured to be selectively switchable to supply one of each coating color of the main paint supply source, the special color paint, and the cleaning fluid to the coating gun; A first switching valve interposed between the color change valve and a second cleaning fluid supply pipe to which the cleaning fluid is supplied, and a first switching valve provided at a connection portion of the color change valve to the first switching valve; And a second switching valve having a waste liquid port. The first switching valve is connected to the special color paint supply source and the color change valve in a first state, and the second cleaning fluid supply pipe is connected to the second cleaning fluid supply pipe. Second to connect with color change valve
And a third state in which the second cleaning fluid supply pipe and the special color paint supply source are connected to each other. The second switching valve includes the first switching valve and the color change. A paint supply device characterized in that a first state in which a valve is connected and a second state in which the first switching valve and the waste liquid port are connected can be selectively switched. 2. The paint supply source for the special color paint is provided in a tank in which a paint container containing the special color paint is pressurized, and a ground end of a paint pipe connected to the first switching valve is connected. The paint supply device according to claim 1, wherein