JPH06175730A - Fluid discharge amount controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always ensure the stable control of the fluid flow rate by controlling the operation of a regulator basing on the detecting results of a viscosity detecting means included in a fluid container and a fluid flow rate measuring means. CONSTITUTION:A fluid pump 14 pumps up a fluid coating material 12 out of a coating material tank 11 and feeds the material 12 to a spray gun 13 through a fluid path. Meanwhile, a rotary viscometer 17 detects the viscosity of the material 12 stored in the tank 11 and sends this detecting result to a control part 18 as a data signal (b). A means flow rate meter 16 measures the flow rate of the material 12 passing through the fluid path and sends this measuring result to the part 18 as a feedback signal (c). The part 18 fetches these result information and decides the optimum conditions to supply the material 12 to the spray gun 13. Then, the part 18 controls the operation of a regulator 15 basing on an air signal (d). Thus, the amount of the material 12 discharged from the gun 13 is controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid discharge amount control device, and more particularly to a fluid discharge amount control device capable of performing stable fluid flow rate control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a coating device using a robot or an automatic coating device, a required amount of liquid paint is sprayed onto a required portion or a stable coating required for high quality coating to achieve a uniform coating film thickness. A device for controlling the fluid discharge amount is provided in order to supply a flow rate of paint to the automatic coating gun. As a conventional example of such a fluid discharge amount control device, for example, one shown in FIG. 3 is used. is there.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 is a paint tank containing a liquid paint 2, 3 is a spray gun for spraying the paint onto the object, and 4 is a fluid for drawing up the paint 2 from the paint tank 1 and supplying it to the spray gun 3. A pump 5 is a regulator for adjusting the amount of fluid pumped by the fluid pump 4, and 6 is a fluid pump 4 that controls the operation of the regulator 5.
The control unit adjusts the amount of liquid paint supplied from the spray gun 3 to the spray gun 3.

When performing a coating operation in such a fluid discharge amount control device, when the flow rate value of the liquid coating material 2 is set in the control unit 6 and the fluid pump 4 is activated, the fluid pump 4 is supplied from the coating material tank 1 with liquid. While the paint 2 is pumped up and sent to the spray gun 3, a control signal a is sent from the control unit 6 to the regulator 5 to control the operation of the regulator 5 and the outflow amount of the paint from the spray gun 3 is controlled.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional fluid discharge amount control device, the control signal from the control section 6 indicates in advance the flow rate of the paint sent from the paint tank 1 to the spray gun 3. Since it is controlled so as to reach a predetermined value, for example, the viscosity of the liquid coating material 2 may change, or the pipe line from the fluid pump 4 to the spray gun 3 may be clogged. However, if the flow condition of the liquid paint changes, there is a problem that the control by the control unit 6 cannot sufficiently cope with the change.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a fluid discharge amount control device capable of performing stable fluid flow rate control.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fluid discharge amount control device for adjusting the amount of fluid discharged from a gun member, and means for detecting the viscosity of a fluid in a fluid container. The gist is that the means for measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the fluid path and the control means for controlling the operation of the regulator based on the detection results by the viscosity detecting means and the flow rate measuring means are provided.

[0008]

With the above structure, when the fluid pump is operated,
The fluid pump pumps up the liquid paint 2 from the fluid container and sends it to the gun member, and the fluid is discharged from the gun member. During this operation, the viscosity detecting means detects the viscosity of the fluid in the fluid container and transmits it to the control means, while the flow rate measuring means measures the flow rate of the fluid passing through the fluid path and transmits it to the control means. Then, the control means controls the operation of the regulator based on these viscosities and flow rates. This controls the amount of fluid discharged from the gun member.

[0009]

1 and 2 are views showing an embodiment of the fluid discharge amount control apparatus according to the present invention and its operation. Among these, FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an operation system diagram showing the state of control operation between each functional unit in the above-mentioned embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 is a fluid container for containing a liquid paint 12 which is a fluid, that is, a paint tank, 1
3 is a spray gun as a gun member for spraying the liquid paint 12 onto an object to be coated such as an automobile body, 14 is a fluid pump for pumping the liquid paint 12 from the liquid paint tank 11 and supplying it to the spray gun 13, and 15 is a fluid pump. 1
A regulator for adjusting the amount of the liquid paint 12 pumped up by 4, and a fluid 16 arranged in the vicinity of the spray gun 13 upstream of the spray gun 13 in the liquid paint path from the paint tank 11 to the spray gun 13. A mass flowmeter as a flow rate measuring means, 17 is a rotary viscometer for detecting the viscosity of the liquid paint 12 in the paint tank 12, and 18 is a liquid paint from the fluid pump 14 to the spray gun 13 by controlling the operation of the regulator 15. It is a control unit that adjusts the supply amount of 12 pieces. The control unit 18 is composed of a CPU, and calculates the optimum condition for supplying the liquid paint 12 based on the data from the mass flow meter 16 and the rotary viscometer 17, and controls the operation of the regulator 15.

The operation of the fluid discharge amount control device having such a configuration will be described below with reference to FIG.
When performing the coating work in the fluid discharge amount control device according to this embodiment, when the control unit 18 sets the flow rate value of the liquid paint 12 and starts the operation, the control unit 18 gives an initial command to the regulator 15 by an air signal e. Meanwhile, the fluid pump 14 is activated to start the supply operation of the liquid paint 12. Then, the fluid pump 14 pumps up the liquid paint 12 from the paint tank 11 and sends it to the spray gun 13 through the fluid path. On the other hand, during this operation, the rotary viscometer 17 causes the liquid paint 1 in the paint tank 11 to
The viscosity of No. 2 is detected and the result is transmitted to the control unit 18 as a data signal b, while the mass flow meter 16 measures the flow rate of the liquid paint 12 passing through the fluid path, and the result is used as a feedback signal c as the control unit 18. Tell to. Then, the control unit 18 takes in the viscosity information and the flow rate information, and calculates the liquid paint 12 based on the viscosity information and the flow rate information.
The optimum conditions to be supplied to the regulator 3 are obtained, PID control information is given to the regulator 15 by the air signal d, and the operation of the regulator 15 is controlled. by this,
The discharge amount of the liquid paint 12 from the spray gun 13 is controlled. The mass flowmeter 16 and the rotary viscometer 17 always detect the flow rate of the liquid paint 12 and the viscosity of the liquid paint 12 in the paint tank 11 during the liquid paint supply operation, and transmit the results to the control unit 18. If there is any change on the way, the controller 18 immediately sends the corrected PID control information to the regulator 15, and the spray gun 13
From this point, the liquid paint 12 is always discharged stably.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A fluid discharge amount control device, means for detecting the viscosity of the fluid in the fluid container, means for measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the fluid path, and operation of the regulator based on the detection results by the viscosity detecting means and the flow rate measuring means. Since the control means for controlling the flow rate is provided, it is possible to obtain an effect that the flow rate of the fluid can always be stably controlled.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a fluid discharge amount control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation system diagram showing a state of control operation between respective functional units in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a conventional fluid discharge amount control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Paint Tank (Fluid Container) 12 Liquid Paint 13 Spray Gun 14 Fluid Pump 15 Regulator 16 Mass Flowmeter 17 Rotary Viscometer 18 Controller

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fluid pump for pumping fluid from a fluid container, a gun member for discharging the fluid sent by the fluid pump, and a regulator provided in a fluid path upstream of the gun member for adjusting the supply amount of the fluid. Means for detecting the viscosity of the fluid in the fluid container, means for measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the fluid path upstream of the gun member, based on the detection results by the viscosity detecting means and the flow rate measuring means Fluid discharge amount control means device comprising control means for controlling the operation of the regulator.