JPH04338251A - Coating film forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device capable of continuously and effectively forming a coating film even on a three-dimensional body and capable of coping with production of many kinds in small quantities. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a shape recognizer 2 for a material 1 to be coated consisting of a linear light source 22, a CCD camera 21, a picture processor 23, etc., a spray robot 3 for supplying a coating soln. to the material 1, a solvent dryer 4 and a UV irradiation device 5 for curing the coating soln., and the members are connected with a series of conveyor lines. Spray coating patterns conforming to the shapes of many kinds are previously stored in a storage part, the material is automatically coated by the robot 3 in the pattern conforming to the actual shape by collating the stored information and actual shape, and a lamp is moved to appropriately irradiate the material with UV by the same control as before.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying an ultraviolet curable coating film to plastic molded articles having three-dimensional shapes, and more specifically, it relates to an apparatus for applying an ultraviolet curable coating film to a plastic molded article having a three-dimensional shape, and more specifically, for applying a plurality of articles having various shapes to be coated arbitrarily on the same conveyor. The present invention relates to a coating film application device that enables continuous processing.

0002

[Prior Art] Application of coating liquid to plate-shaped or simple-shaped plastic products with relatively few irregularities has been done in the past.
Curing methods have been developed and put into practical use, but since the object to be coated is flat, a simple structure for both the coating equipment and the curing equipment is sufficient, making these processing steps continuous. This is because in the past, it was sufficient to simply install a flat belt conveyor between each process to convey the object to be coated.

On the other hand, in recent years, there has been an increasing need to provide various special functions, such as scratch resistance, to three-dimensional plastic molded products such as automobile headlamps, and each processing device has been adapted to handle three-dimensional objects. and its continuity is desired.

Furthermore, as a means of production to meet the demand for high-mix, low-volume production, it is desired to carry out parallel production by mixing a wide variety of objects to be coated on the same production line.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In response to these demands, spray robots have appeared in the painting process, and although this has partially solved the problem, problems arise in subsequent processes, such as measures against three-dimensional objects in ultraviolet irradiation equipment, and The current situation is that a sufficient process has not yet been developed for complete continuity of the process, and no measures have been taken at all for high-mix, low-volume production.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a coating film that takes effective measures against three-dimensional objects in the processing steps after the painting step, realizes the continuity of the entire process, and can also handle high-mix, low-volume production. An object of the present invention is to provide a granting device.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object, the gist of the present invention is to provide a shape recognition device for recognizing the shape of an object to be painted, and a spray gun for applying a coating liquid to the object to be painted. It consists of a spray robot that holds a liquid at the tip of its arm, a drying device to volatilize the solvent contained in the coating liquid applied to the object to be coated, and an ultraviolet irradiation device to harden the coating liquid. The apparatus is a coating film application apparatus in which the apparatuses are continuously connected by an endless conveyor line, in which spray coating patterns matching the shapes of multiple types of products are stored in advance in a storage unit, and the stored information and the above-mentioned shape recognition are stored in advance. The coating film applying apparatus is characterized in that a comparison unit compares the shape recognized by the device with the shape recognized by the shape recognition device, and the spray robot automatically applies a coating using a spray coating pattern that matches the shape recognized by the shape recognition device.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, not only the above-mentioned spray coating pattern but also the lamp arrangement in the ultraviolet irradiation device may be irradiated in a compatible arrangement. may be used as shape recognition information. Furthermore, as another embodiment, the shape recognition device may include a linear light source, a CCD camera, and an image processing device.

[0009]

[Operation] When the object to be painted moves, the shape recognition device
Its shape is recognized. The information input to the shape recognition device is checked against pre-registered product type shape information, and if it is confirmed that it is the same as a specific registered product type, the product type confirmation information is sent to the robot control panel and It is transmitted to the drive actuator for changing the position of the lamp.

[0010] The robot control panel stores in advance an operation that causes the spray robot to move with an appropriate spray pattern for each product type, and causes the spray robot to perform the appropriate operation in accordance with the input product type confirmation information. On the other hand, regarding the proper arrangement of lamps, for example, various information for proper arrangement is stored in advance in an image processing device, etc., and each drive actuator is operated independently based on the information each time the object to be painted is changed. death,
The individual lamps are moved to achieve the appropriate irradiation distance for objects of various shapes, and the irradiation energy is balanced over all surfaces to be painted.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Representative embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of an embodiment of the coating film application apparatus according to the present invention, in which 1 indicates an object to be coated;
2 is a shape recognition device, 3 is a spray robot, 4 is a drying device, and 5 is an ultraviolet irradiation device.A series of devices are continuously connected by an endless conveyor 6, and the object 1 to be coated is placed on the conveyor 6 in an appropriate manner. It is held by spindle type holders 7 (FIG. 2) provided at pitches and moves counterclockwise.

That is, the workpiece 1 to be coated is first placed on the spindle type holder 7 near the workpiece loading/unloading area A by an operator. Thereafter, it passes through the shape recognition device 2 in accordance with the movement of the conveyor 6. The type confirmation information collected at that time is sent to the spray robot 3 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 5.

Next, the object 1 to be painted is moved to the painting area B. Here, the coating liquid is applied by the spray robot 3 using a spray gun (not shown) held at the tip of the robot arm. At this time, the spray robot 3 is previously stored with spray coating patterns corresponding to the shapes of a plurality of products, and paints with a pattern corresponding to product confirmation information based on the above-mentioned shape information. Thereafter, the object to be coated 1 is guided to a drying device 4 in order to accelerate the volatilization of volatile components such as a solvent contained in the applied coating liquid. Appropriate heat treatment is performed within the drying device 4, and necessary and sufficient solvent removal is performed.

[0014] In order to cure the finally applied coating liquid, the object to be coated 1 passes through the chamber of the ultraviolet irradiation device 5, and the amount of energy necessary for curing is applied, thereby curing the coating liquid. The amount of energy to be applied in this case should preferably be as uniform as possible over the entire painting surface, and for this purpose it is necessary to control the distance between the UV radiation lamp and the workpiece 1, the lamp being controlled by a motor. The system is designed to be movable, and multiple lamps are appropriately arranged based on product type confirmation information sent from the shape recognition device.

[0015] Below, an example of the shape recognition device which is the main part of the present invention, and specific details regarding the operation of the spray robot 3 and the movement of the ultraviolet irradiation lamp to the appropriate location based on the product type confirmation information sent from the device will be explained. The control method will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a shape recognition device;
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the flow of each operation of the spray robot 3 and the ultraviolet irradiation lamp based on the product type confirmation information, and FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the appropriate arrangement of the ultraviolet lamp.

The shape recognition device 2 is composed of a CCD camera 21, a linear light source 22, and an image processing device 23. The CCD camera 21 may be any commonly available element and camera, and is not particularly limited as long as it has an appropriate resolution. The linear light source 22 inputs the shape of the object 1 viewed from the horizontal direction to the CCD camera 21, so there is no particular restriction on the linear light source 22 as long as it can illuminate using a transmitted light method, and it is generally a high-frequency fluorescent lamp. , optical fiber type linear light source, etc. can be used. The image processing device 23 has the ability to output the shape information inputted to the CCD camera 21 after processing it into the information required in the subsequent process. It is most effective to capture the height dimension of the coated object 1, that is, the side shape viewed from the horizontal direction, which changes from time to time. because,
Most common plastic molded products have a box-like shape, and in the example shown in FIG. 2, it has been found empirically that in most cases it is possible to identify the product by its side shape.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, reference numeral 51 indicates a plurality of ultraviolet irradiation lamps (hereinafter referred to as lamps) installed in the ultraviolet irradiation device 5 (FIG. 1), and 52 indicates an appropriate arrangement of the lamps 51. The drive actuator for changing the position is typically a motor, pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, etc. 31 is a robot control panel that controls the operation of the spray robot 3, and various information is input and output from here.

Next, the overall flow of signal information and various control methods will be explained based on FIGS. 2 to 4. The object to be coated 1 placed on the upper part of the spindle holder 7 moves, and the information input to the shape recognition device 2 in the state shown in FIG. 23, and when it is confirmed that the product is the same as a specific registered product, product product confirmation information is transmitted to the robot control panel 31 and the drive actuator 52 for changing the position of the lamp 51.

[0020] In the memory of the robot control panel 31, operations are stored in advance such that the robot moves with an appropriate spray pattern for each type of robot, and the appropriate operation is performed in accordance with the input type confirmation information. On the other hand, there are various ways of thinking about the proper arrangement of the lamps 51, and although it is not possible to make a uniform determination as to which method should be adopted, there is a method shown in FIG. 4 as a preferred example. Figure (a) shows the case of a relatively small workpiece 1, and Figure (b) shows the case of a large workpiece 1. The workpiece 1 progresses from front to back of the page. It is assumed that there is In the figure, the broken line arrow indicates the direction of manual movement of the lamp 51, and the solid line arrow indicates the direction in which the drive actuator 52 is moved.
The figure shows the direction in which the lamp 51 automatically moves. In the case of this embodiment, various information for proper placement of each product type is stored in advance in the image processing device 23 or a dedicated control panel (not shown).
is stored in the memory. On top of that, each drive actuator 52 operates independently based on new information sent each time the object 1 to be coated changes. For example, in FIGS.
), the individual lamps 51 are moved close to or away from the painted surface of the object 1 to an appropriate irradiation distance to equalize the irradiation energy on the entire painted surface. Of course, it is possible to automatically control the manual operation shown in the figure by the dashed arrow indicating the direction of position change, but this would make the mechanism more complicated and the equipment more expensive. Specifically, as mentioned above, automatic control is performed only in one direction (the direction of the solid line arrow), and this control alone can almost fully achieve the intended purpose.

[0021]

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the operation and lamp arrangement of the spray robot are properly automatically controlled based on the product type confirmation information from the shape recognition device. Painting is automatically performed in a pattern that matches the shape of each workpiece, and the UV lamp automatically applies appropriate and uniform irradiation over the entire surface, making it possible to coat a wide variety of workpieces. Since it can be handled immediately even if the products are passed through the same line in any order, it is fully compatible with any high-mix, low-volume production, and is extremely useful industrially.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of an embodiment of a coating film application apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a shape recognition device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of reflecting product type confirmation information to two other devices.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating proper arrangement of ultraviolet lamps.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Object to be painted 2 Shape recognition device 3 Spray robot 4 Drying equipment 5 Ultraviolet irradiation device 6 Conveyor 21 CCD camera 22 Linear light source 23 Image processing device 31 Robot control panel 51 Ultraviolet irradiation lamp 52 Drive actuator

Claims (4)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A shape recognition device that recognizes the shape of an object to be painted; a spray robot that holds a spray gun at the tip of an arm for applying a coating liquid to the object; It is a coating film application device that consists of a drying device to volatilize the solvent contained in the coating solution and an ultraviolet irradiation device to cure the coating solution, and a series of devices are continuously connected by an endless conveyor line. The storage unit stores in advance spray painting patterns that match the shapes of a plurality of product types, and the comparison unit compares the stored information with the shape recognized by the shape recognition device. A coating film application device characterized in that the spray robot automatically applies a coating using a spray coating pattern that conforms to the shape recognized by the spray robot. 2. Lamp arrangements in the ultraviolet irradiation device that match the shapes of a plurality of product types are stored in advance in a storage unit, and the stored information is compared with the shape recognized by the shape recognition device to determine the shape of the product. Claim 1, characterized in that irradiation is performed with a lamp arrangement that matches the shape recognized by the shape recognition device.
The coating film application device described. 3. The coating film application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the external shape of the object to be coated viewed from a horizontal direction is used as shape recognition information. 4. The coating film application device according to claim 1, wherein the shape recognition device comprises a linear light source, a CCD camera, and an image processing device.