JP3621876B2 - Paint supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a coating material supply device used in a painting process of an automobile body or a part, and more particularly to a coating material supply device that is preferable for use in a coating material having a low production number.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The paint supply equipment used in automobile body and parts painting lines, etc., paint tanks that store paint of each paint color, a pump that pumps the paint, and paint from the paint tank to the coating machine (actually a color change valve) The paint tanks, pumps and paint pipes are installed in the number corresponding to the number of paint colors. And the paint of the coating color according to a to-be-coated object specification is sprayed by switching the color change valve provided in the upstream of the coating machine.
[0003]
By the way, in a production line for automobile bodies and parts intended for mass production, a paint blending room in which a large number of paint tanks are installed is provided in addition to a painting booth for spraying paint on an object to be coated. Since such a paint blending chamber is generally provided at a location distant from the painting booth, a large amount of paint circulates in the paint piping from the paint tank to the painting booth.
[0004]
However, depending on the specifications of the object to be coated, there are paint colors with a very small number of products, and this type of paint circulates in the paint pipe for a long time, so evaporation of volatile solvents, paint pumps, regulators, etc. In many cases, the paint is deteriorated or the paint conditions such as viscosity are changed by abrasion or pulverization of the pigment. In such a case, all of the paint charged in the paint pipe must be discarded and replaced with a fresh paint, resulting in a large cost loss.
[0005]
In addition, since such a paint supply device needs to prepare a certain amount of paint regardless of the amount of paint used, there is a need for potential paint costs to circulate in the paint supply device in addition to the paint used. Become. Furthermore, since it is necessary to circulate the paint even when it is not painted from the viewpoint of preventing pigment settling, etc., running costs such as power costs are also incurred.
[0006]
For this reason, for paint colors with a small production volume, a small-capacity paint supply device may be provided in the paint booth or on the side of the paint booth. With this type of paint supply device, the length of the paint pipe can be shortened. However, it is necessary to provide a paint pipe for each color, which is problematic in terms of cost and space.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a paint supply apparatus suitable for small-scale production.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a paint supply device for supplying paint to a paint gun, a color change valve having a joint, a cartridge tank for containing paint, and a paint in the cartridge tank Agitator provided in the cartridge tank for agitating the paint, a paint discharge air inlet provided in the cartridge tank for introducing the paint discharge air into the cartridge tank, and a joint of the color change valve. A joint provided at a paint outlet in the cartridge tank for possible connection, a cartridge tank unit, a paint pipe connecting the cartridge tank unit, the color change valve and the paint gun, and the plurality Each of which has a cartridge tank mounted thereon, A carriage moving means for moving the carriage so that the joint of the cartridge tank unit and the joint of the color change valve unit are connected to each other, and a position detecting means for detecting the position of the carriage and the position of each cartridge tank. A cleaning device provided in the vicinity of the joint of the color change valve for cleaning the joint of the cartridge tank unit, and a current carriage position detected by the position detecting means and a paint to be applied next There is provided a paint supply device in which the carriage is moved by the carriage moving means based on the position of the cartridge tank in which is stored .
[0009]
According to the cartridge tank unit of the present invention, since the paint in the cartridge tank can be stirred by the stirrer, the settling of the paint can be prevented and can be applied to the metallic base paint.
[0010]
Further, if the capacity of the cartridge tank is appropriately selected, it is possible to flexibly cope with fluctuations in the coating color ratio and production amount.
[0011]
Furthermore, since the paint for one car body can be put in a cartridge tank and an automatic coating machine can be used, an actual line trial of a new color paint or a new material paint can be performed easily at low cost. Moreover, even if only one special paint color is produced by special order production, it is possible to handle the special paint color flexibly and at low cost because only the necessary amount of paint is charged in the cartridge tank.
[0012]
In this case, although not particularly limited, the cartridge tank unit of the present invention is more preferably installed in the vicinity of the painting booth. By installing the cartridge tank unit of the present invention in the vicinity of the paint booth where the paint gun is provided, the color change loss can be greatly reduced and the color change time can be remarkably shortened. Furthermore, since there is little damage with respect to a coating material, a coating material does not deteriorate easily and the life of a coating material is prolonged.
[0013]
Further, in the present invention, the cartridge tank unit has a joint detachably connected to the joint of the cartridge tank unit, and the plurality of cartridge tank units and the color change valve are relative to each other. It is provided to be movable .
[0014]
Further , in the present invention, a carriage for mounting the plurality of cartridge tanks, means for moving the carriage so that a joint of each of the cartridge tank units and a joint of the color change valve unit are respectively connected, Have
[0015]
By configuring a plurality of cartridge tank units to be connectable to the color change valve, it is possible to supply a large number of small amounts of coating colors to a single coating machine. In particular, by mounting a plurality of cartridge tanks on the carriage and moving the carriage, the cartridge tanks can be automatically switched, and the color change time can be shortened.
[0016]
The present invention further includes a cleaning device for cleaning the joint of the cartridge tank unit .
[0017]
When multiple cartridge tanks can be connected to one color change valve, the color change valve has a cleaning function, so problems such as color mixing do not occur, but paint also adheres to the joint on the cartridge tank side, This causes color mixing. Therefore, such a color mixture can be prevented by washing the joint of the cartridge tank with the washing device as in the present invention.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention , since the paint in the cartridge tank can be stirred with the stirrer, the settling of the paint can be prevented and can be applied to the metallic base paint. Further, if the capacity of the cartridge tank is appropriately selected, it is possible to flexibly cope with fluctuations in the coating color ratio and production amount.
[0019]
Furthermore, since the paint for one car body can be put in the cartridge tank and the automatic coating machine can be used, actual line trials of new color paints and new material paints can be easily performed at low cost. Moreover, even if only one special paint color is produced by special order production, it is possible to handle the special paint color flexibly and at low cost because only the necessary amount of paint is charged in the cartridge tank.
[0020]
In addition to this, it is possible to supply a large number of small-amount coating colors to a single coating machine. In particular, by mounting a plurality of cartridge tanks on the carriage and moving the carriage, the cartridge tanks can be automatically switched, and the color change time can be shortened.
[0021]
Moreover, color mixing can be prevented by washing the joint of the cartridge tank with the washing device.
Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the residual paint is discarded from the dump valve to the outside without passing through the manifold of the color change valve, the cleaning time can be shortened.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a cartridge tank unit according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an embodiment of the paint supply apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the paint supply apparatus of the present invention. 4 is a plan view of the paint supply apparatus shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the internal structure of the carriage shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a view of the joint of the cartridge tank unit and the color change valve according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side view showing an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention.
[0023]
1 and 2 show the basic configuration of the paint supply apparatus of the present invention. The paint supply apparatus of the present embodiment has a cartridge tank unit 100, a color change valve 19 and a paint pipe 5 shown in FIG. 1, and a paint robot 2 installed in the paint booth 3 as shown in FIG. Applies to
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge tank unit 100 includes an agitator blade provided on a lid 9 of the cartridge tank 4 for stirring the cartridge tank 4 that stores the paint and the paint 16 that is stored in the cartridge tank 4. 12 and an agitator motor 11 (these correspond to the stirrer of the present invention), and a paint discharge air introduction port 14 provided in the lid 9 of the cartridge tank for introducing the paint discharge air 20 into the cartridge tank 4. In order to detachably connect to the color change valve 19, a coupling 15 provided at the paint outlet in the cartridge tank 4 is provided.
[0025]
The cartridge tank 4 and the lid 9 are fixed by a clasp 10 through a packing 18. The agitator motor 11 is driven by compressed air connected through a quick joint 13. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 17 denotes a leg of the cartridge tank 4, and this leg 17 is used when the cartridge tank 4 removed from the joint 15 with the color change valve 19 is placed.
[0026]
When the cartridge tank 4 is filled with the paint 16 and the lid 9 is closed, the inside of the cartridge tank unit 100 becomes an airtight space. Therefore, when compressed air of 2 to 5 MPa, for example, is introduced from the paint discharge air introduction port 14, the cartridge tank unit 100 4 rises and the paint 16 is pumped to the color change valve 19 via the quick joint 15. When the viscosity of the paint 16 is high or when the paint is charged in a short time, compressed air of 5 MPa or more may be used.
[0027]
Moreover, even if it is a coating material like a metallic coating material, sedimentation of a metallic pigment can be prevented by rotating the agitator blade | wing 12 continuously or intermittently.
[0028]
The paint 16 reaching the color change valve 19 is supplied to the paint gun 1 attached to the tip of the paint robot 2 through the paint hose 5 and applied to the body 8 as the object to be coated. In the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cartridge tank unit 100 puts the paint prepared by the paint supply operator 6 into the cartridge tank 4, transports it to the line side of the painting booth 3 and manually replaces it. For example, it is preferable to apply to an actual line trial of a new color paint or a new material paint. It is also preferable to apply to a custom-order coating color with only a very small amount of production.
[0029]
Incidentally, the capacity of the cartridge tank 4 of this example is not particularly limited and is determined in consideration of the number of production. For example, when the top coat base coat is applied with eight paint guns 1 with a line tact of 1.5 minutes / unit, generally the paint used per paint gun is 300 ml or less. Also, considering the work efficiency of the paint supply operator 6, assuming that the paint filling frequency is 1 time / day, 1 unit / day if the capacity of the cartridge tank 4 is 300 to 500 ml, and 1 to 3 units if it is 1000 ml. If the volume is 3000 ml / day, 10 bodies / day, and if it is 6000 ml, 20 bodies / day can be handled.
[0030]
Further, it is preferable that the cartridge tank 4, the lid 9, the agitator blades 12 and the like are made of stainless steel because they are hardly rusted even when used for water-based paints.
[0031]
On the other hand, the coating material supply apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is a preferable example when applied to a line in which a plurality of small-scale production colors, for example, about 10 units per day exist, and the cartridge tank rack 25 ( This corresponds to the carriage of the present invention.) N cartridge tanks 4 shown in FIG.
[0032]
That is, as shown in FIG. 1 to No. N cartridge tanks 4, an agitator air pipe 24 for supplying compressed air for driving to the agitator motor 11 of each cartridge tank 4, and a paint discharge air pipe 20 for supplying paint discharge air to each cartridge tank 4. Is provided.
[0033]
The agitator air pipe 24 is provided with an agitator air regulator 28 for collectively adjusting the air pressure of the compressed air. On the other hand, each of the paint discharge air pipes 20 is compressed to be supplied to each cartridge tank 4. An air regulator 27 is provided to independently adjust the air pressure. Further, an ON / OFF valve 30 for turning on and off the compressed air is provided on the downstream side of each air regulator 27. Further, in order to clean the color change valve 19 at the time of color change, a solvent paint cleaning thinner supply port 22 and a water-based paint cleaning solvent supply port 23 are provided.
[0034]
An opening is formed in the bottom surface of the cartridge tank rack 25, from which access to the quick joint 15 of the docking port 21 of the color change valve 19 is made possible.
[0035]
Returning to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the cartridge tank rack 25 is arranged along the booth side of the painting booth 3, and a desired paint 16 is supplied to one or a plurality of painting robots 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the cartridge tank rack 25 has wheels 34, and can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction of the painting booth 3, that is, the conveying direction of the body 8, on the rail 35 installed on the booth side of the painting booth 3. It is said that. The cartridge tank rack 25 moves along the coating booth 3 by rotating the drive chain 33 attached to the cartridge tank rack 25 clockwise or counterclockwise by the drive unit 38 and the drive motor 32.
[0036]
The tension adjusting mechanism 36 provided in the vicinity of the driven portion 39 adjusts the tension of the drive chain 33.
[0037]
Further, the current position of the cartridge tank rack 25 is detected by a position detection pulse generator 37 provided at a desired position of the drive chain 33. Based on the current position of the cartridge tank rack 25 detected by the position detection pulse generator 37 and the position (No. 1 to No. N) of the cartridge tank 4 in which the paint to be painted next is stored, It is calculated how much the cartridge tank rack 25 is moved in which direction with respect to the docking port 21 of the docking station 26, and the drive motor 32 is operated based on the result.
[0038]
Next, the operation will be described.
For example, the cartridge tank No. 2 mounted on the cartridge tank rack 25 shown in FIG. 2, the current position of the cartridge tank rack 25 is first detected by the position detection pulse generator 37, and this information and the cartridge tank NO. The drive motor 32 is operated based on the position information of 2. As a result, as shown in FIG. The two paint outlets face the quick joint 15 of the docking port 21 of the color change valve 19. Here, although detailed illustration is omitted, the docking port 21 is configured to be finely movable up and down by a driving device, and moves close to and away from the paint outlet of the cartridge tank 4 fixed to the rack 25. As a result, the cartridge tank No. The quick joint 15 of the docking port 21 is connected to the second paint outlet.
[0039]
Cartridge tank No. 2 and the color change valve 19 are connected, the compressed air ON / OFF valve 30 is turned on, and the cartridge tank No. 2 is turned on. Compressed air is supplied into 2. As a result, the cartridge tank No. The paint 16 accommodated in 2 is pushed out to the color change valve 19 and the manifold 20, and is applied to the body 8 from the paint gun 1 through the paint hose 5.
[0040]
Cartridge tank No. When the coating of the paint 16 in 2 is completed, the color change valve 19 is first closed, and the compressed air ON / OFF valve 30 is also closed. As a result, the cartridge tank No. Since the pressure in 2 falls, the quick joint 15 of the docking port 21 is removed using the drive device.
[0041]
At this time, between the quick joint 15 of the docking port 21 and the color change valve 19, the cartridge tank No. The paint 16 accommodated in 2 remains. Therefore, either the solvent paint cleaning thinner supply port 22 or the water-based paint cleaning solvent supply port 23 provided in the cartridge tank rack 25 is connected to the quick joint 15 to wash away the residual paint. Cartridge tank No. When the paint 16 accommodated in 2 is a solvent-based paint, the supply port 22 is connected, and when the paint 16 is a water-based paint, the supply port 23 is connected. The operation of connecting the supply ports 22 and 23 to the quick joint 15 is the same as the cartridge tank No. described above. This is the same as the connecting operation of the paint outlet 2.
[0042]
FIG. 6 shows a state in which the supply port 22 or 23 is connected to the quick joint 15. In the method A shown in FIG. 6, the residual paint is pushed out from the paint gun 1 through the manifold 20 and the paint hose 5 from the color change valve 19. Is. On the other hand, in the B system shown in the figure, a dedicated dump valve 31 is provided in the color change valve 19 and the residual paint is directly pushed out therefrom. In the B method, the residual paint between the quick joint 15 and the color change valve 19 is discarded to the outside without passing through the manifold 20, so that the cleaning time can be shortened by that amount compared to the A method.
[0043]
Incidentally, cartridge tank No. Since the paint also adheres to the periphery of the paint outlet port 2, a cleaning device 33 that moves toward and away from the cartridge tank 4 as shown in FIG. 7 is provided near the docking port 21. Is circulated to clean the outlet of the cartridge tank 4.
[0044]
The embodiment described above is described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not described for limiting the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a cartridge tank unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing an embodiment of the paint supply apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing another embodiment of the paint supply apparatus of the present invention.
4 is a plan view of the paint supply apparatus shown in FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing the internal structure of the carriage shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a connection structure between the joint of the cartridge tank unit and the joint of the color change valve according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing an embodiment of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paint gun 2 ... Paint robot 4 ... Cartridge tank 5 ... Paint hose 11 ... Agitator motor (stirrer)
12 ... Agitator blade (stirrer)
15 ... Quick joint
16 ... Paint 19 ... Color change valve 33 ... Cleaning device

Claims (2)

A paint supply device for supplying paint to a paint gun,
A color change valve with a joint ;
A cartridge tank for storing paint, a stirrer provided in the cartridge tank for stirring the paint in the cartridge tank, and a paint provided in the cartridge tank for introducing paint discharge air into the cartridge tank A cartridge tank unit having a discharge air introduction port, and a joint provided at a paint outlet in the cartridge tank so as to be detachably connected to the joint of the color change valve;
These cartridge tank unit, color change valve and paint piping connecting the paint gun,
A carriage carrying the plurality of cartridge tanks;
A carriage moving means for moving the carriage so that the coupling of each of the cartridge tank units and the coupling of the color change valve unit are connected to each other;
Position detection means for detecting the position of the carriage and the position of each cartridge tank;
A cleaning device provided in the vicinity of the joint of the color change valve for cleaning the joint of the cartridge tank unit;
The paint supply apparatus, wherein the carriage is moved by the carriage moving means based on a current carriage position detected by the position detection means and a position of a cartridge tank in which a paint to be painted next is stored. . 2. The paint supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color change valve has a dump valve, and at the time of color change, residual paint is discarded from the dump valve .

Images