JPH1028911A - Coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To coat a material to be coated with a coating film having good quality by allowing a coating material spraying means to travel smoothly and exactly along the extension direction of rails while reducing the size of the device. SOLUTION: This device is so constituted that a coating robot 10 coats the material to be coated while spraying the coating material and traveling in the extension direction of the rails within the coating zone of a coating booth. In such a case, the device includes linear guides 22 which are disposed movably in the extension direction of the rails while these guides are supported by the rails 21, connecting members 25 which are connected to the linear guides 22 and hold a coating robot 10, a cover 30 which covers the moving region of the rails 21 and the linear guide members 22 over the entire length thereof and is isolated from the coating robot 10 while permitting the movement of the connecting members 25 in the extension direction of the rails and a supplying means 41 which supplies a part of the feed air sent to the coating zone to the internal space covered by the cover 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating apparatus in which a coating spray means is provided in a coating zone of a coating booth via a rail so as to be able to travel in a predetermined direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a coating apparatus in which a paint spraying means blows paint in a painting zone of a painting booth and travels in a rail extending direction to paint an object to be painted.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional configuration of such a coating apparatus.
In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a painting robot as a paint spraying means, and 21 denotes a rail for causing the painting robot 10 to track. FIG. 4 shows only the front rail of the two rails arranged in parallel in the predetermined direction (the direction of transport of the object to be coated) X.

The painting robot 10 includes a main body 11 and an arm 12 provided on the main body 11, and moves the arm 12 in a predetermined direction (for example, a vertical direction and a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4). The paint can be blown out from a paint spraying section 13 provided at the tip end. Body 1
For example, two wheels 27 are provided at the bottom of the unit 1 so as to be rotatable two by two.

[0005] The painting robot 10 is supported on the rail 21 via the wheels 27 so as to be able to travel, and is driven to travel within a predetermined length range (ST1) by driving means (not shown).

Accordingly, the painting robot 10 is connected to the rail 2
Move the arm 12 in a predetermined direction while running on
In addition, the object to be coated (for example, an automobile bumper W) can be painted by spraying the paint at a predetermined timing from the paint spraying unit 13 during the traveling.

[0007] An air supply chamber 4 comprising a dynamic pressure chamber and a pressure suppression chamber is provided above the coating zone 3. The air supply chamber 4 is dust-removed by an air conditioner (not shown). humidity controlled, predetermined air volume (several thousand to 10,000 several thousand m ³ / mi
The air of n) is supplied through the air supply duct 8. The air supplied to the air supply chamber 4 is blown down to the coating zone 3 at a wind speed of 0.25 to 0.5 m / s through the dynamic pressure chamber and the pressure suppression chamber.

[0008] Air containing paint overmist, organic solvent, and the like generated in the coating zone 3 during coating is exhausted by an exhaust treatment device (not shown) and discharged outside the painting booth.

[0009]

By the way, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus, the paint blown out from the paint spraying section 13 is applied to the rail 2.
1 or the wheels 27 of the coating robot 10 and the like, and solidifies, which may hinder the running of the coating robot 10.

For example, the paint may adhere to and solidify on the wheels 27, and the outer diameter of the paint may increase as a whole or locally, so that the painting robot 10 may not travel with high positional accuracy. Further, a thick solidified paint layer may be formed on the rail 21, and the painting robot 10 may lose its wheel and become unable to travel.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom of the coating robot 10 provided with the rails 21 and the wheels 27 may be covered with a slide cover 30P so as not to cause the above-mentioned inconvenience. . Slide cover 30P
Has a swinging structure in which similar steel plates S1, S2, S3, etc., each having an upper surface formed in an arcuate curved surface, are stacked in multiple stages and connected to be able to expand and contract.

By providing the slide cover 30P, the amount of paint adhering to the rails 21 and the like can be reduced. However, the paint adheres and solidifies on the surface of the slide cover 30P during the painting operation, and the paint makes the slide cover 30P difficult to expand and contract. As a result, the coating robot 10 increases the resistance acting on the slide cover 30P. Therefore, the vehicle may not be able to travel smoothly and accurately.

The provision of the slide cover 30P increases the size and weight of the entire coating apparatus and increases the cost.

The rail 21 and the painting robot 10
May be covered with a cover (not shown). However, in this case, the apparatus becomes larger and heavier, and the coating zone 3 accommodating the cover must be made larger. Instead, the equipment cost is further increased.

Further, the movement of the coating robot 10 is greatly restricted by the cover, and the movement performance is reduced, so that it is difficult to form a coating film having a predetermined thickness on the object to be coated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating apparatus capable of coating a workpiece with good coating quality by smoothly and accurately running a paint spraying means while reducing the size.

[0017]

Although the running performance is not affected even if the paint adheres to the outer surface of the paint spraying means, the running performance deteriorates if the paint adheres to the rails or the guide members such as the wheels contacting the rails. Re-confirm that the guide member is indirectly connected via the connecting member without directly connecting the guide member to the paint spraying means as in the conventional example, and the moving area of the rail and the guide member is covered with a cover, and the rail etc. I tried to isolate it from the paint spraying means. As a result, although the surface area of the cover was greatly reduced as compared with the conventional example, and the size was reduced, the adhesion of the paint to the rails or the like could not be prevented as much as expected. When this was analyzed in detail, it was found that a negative pressure was generated on the downstream side in the moving direction of the guide member and the like with the movement of the guide member and the like, and the paint was sucked from the gap portion of the cover. Based on this analysis, compressed air was supplied into the content space using a compressed air supply source such as a compressor so that a negative pressure was not generated in the internal space covered by the cover. However, compressed air flows at high speed in the internal space, and an ejector effect is exerted in a portion where the internal space communicates with the outside, so that a situation occurs in which paint is sucked in from the outside. Therefore, when a part of the dust-supplied air supplied to the painting zone is supplied to the internal space, the paint is prevented from being sucked into the internal space without generating the negative pressure or the ejector effect. I was able to. The present invention has been made based on the above trials and the like.

That is, the present invention is directed to a coating apparatus for coating an object to be coated by a paint spraying means running in a rail extending direction while blowing paint in a coating zone of a coating booth. A guide member movably provided in the direction, a connecting member connected to the guide member and holding the paint spraying means, and a moving area of the rail and the guide member while allowing the connecting member to move in the rail extending direction. And a cover for covering a portion of the supply air supplied to the coating zone into the interior space covered by the cover. .

In this invention, when the object to be coated is painted by running the paint spraying means, a part of the supply air supplied to the painting zone is supplied to the interior space covered by the cover using the supply means. Supply. Therefore, even if a part of the guide member and the connecting member moves in the internal space due to the travel of the paint spraying means, a negative pressure does not occur on the downstream side in the moving direction of the guide member and the like. Therefore, the air containing the paint is not sucked into the internal space. Further, since the cover and the paint spraying means are not in contact with each other, the movement of the paint spraying means is not restricted.

Since the cover covers the area where the rail and the guide member move, the internal space is significantly smaller than that of the conventional example. As a result, the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced. Also, since the amount of air supplied to the internal space can be reduced, the amount of air supplied to the coating zone does not become insufficient.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the present coating apparatus has the same basic configuration as the conventional example (FIG. 4), except that the cover 30 covers the rail 21 and the moving area of the guide member (22). Cover 30 using the means (41)
A part of the supply air supplied to the coating zone 3 is supplied to the internal space S covered by the coating.

The same components as those in the conventional example (FIG. 4) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

The guide member is formed of a linear guide 22 which can move smoothly by reducing a frictional force generated between the guide member and the rail 21 by a built-in bearing.

The connecting member 25 is connected to a guide member (linear guide 22) and holds a paint spraying unit (for example, the coating robot 10). Specifically, the connecting member 25 is formed in a plate shape so that the cross-sectional area in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction is reduced.

The painting robot 10 is arranged on a base 9B and is configured to run by a driving means 50 by itself. The drive means 50 includes a drive motor 51 provided on the coating robot 10 side, a pinion 52 mounted on the main shaft of the drive motor 51, and a rack 53 provided on the support frame 9 on the base 9B and meshing with the pinion 52. The robot 10 travels along the rail 21 by driving the drive motor 51. In this embodiment, the drive motor 51 is formed of a servomotor in order to accurately control the position of the coating robot 10.

The cover 30 covers the entire area of the rail 21 and the area in which the linear guide 22 moves while allowing the connecting member 25 to move in the rail extension direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1), and paint spraying means (coating robot) It is means to isolate from 10).

More specifically, the cover 30 is disposed on the front side where the coating is performed by the coating robot 10 and
A front cover portion 30F covering the rails 21 and the like, and an inner cover portion 30I covering the rails 21 and the like with respect to the flow of air (down hood flow) passing through the snowboard 61. As shown in FIG. It is formed to be larger than the traveling range (ST1) of the robot 10. On the cover 30,
An opening 31 for allowing the movement of the connecting member 25 is formed.

A part of the supply air supplied to the coating zone 3 through the supply means (41) is supplied to the internal space S covered by the cover 30 (the front cover portion 30F and the inner cover portion 30I). Configuration.

Specifically, the supply means has one end connected to an air supply duct 8 connecting the air conditioner (not shown) and the air supply chamber 4 of the painting booth 1, and the other end connected to the cover 30. It is formed from a pair of branched ducts 41 provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the other end of one branch duct 41 is connected to the start end (left end in the figure) of the cover 30, and the other end of the other branch duct 30 is connected to the end of the cover 30 (end). (Right end in the figure).

Therefore, most of the air supply air having a predetermined air volume (for example, several thousand to several ten thousand m ³ / min), which has been dust-removed and temperature- and humidity-controlled by the air conditioner, is supplied through the air supply duct 8. While being sent to the air supply chamber 4, a part of the supply air is supplied to the internal space S via each branch duct 41.

By supplying a part of the supply air from the starting end and the end of the cover 30 as described above,
The negative pressure generated in the cover 30 can be further reduced. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively prevent the paint or the like from being sucked from the gap portion of the cover 30.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the painting robot 10 travels in the rail extension direction (X) to paint on an object to be painted (for example, an automobile bumper W), a part of the supply air is supplied to the internal space S via the branch duct 41. I do.

Thus, the painting robot 10 is moved to the rail 2
Even when the vehicle travels along No. 1, the internal space S does not generate such a negative pressure that the external paint is sucked. Therefore, the paint does not adhere to the rails 21 and the linear guides 22, and the running of the painting robot 10 is not hindered.

At this time, since the amount of air supplied to the internal space S is extremely small compared to the amount of air supplied to the air supply chamber 4 of the coating booth 1, the amount of air supplied to the coating zone 3 is reduced. There will be no shortage of air.

According to this embodiment, the moving area of the rail 21 and the linear guide 22 is covered by the cover 30, and the air supplied to the coating zone 3 is supplied to the inner space S covered by the cover 30. Since the parts are supplied, it is possible to surely prevent the paint from adhering and solidifying to the rails 21 and the linear guides 22 while significantly reducing the surface area of the cover 30 as compared with the conventional example. In addition, the painting robot 10
And the cover 30 are not in contact with each other.
Is not restricted. Therefore, it is possible to paint the work (W) with good coating quality by running the painting robot 10 smoothly and accurately while reducing the size.

Further, since a part of the supply air is supplied from the supply duct 8 to the internal space S via the branch duct 41, a dedicated fan or an air pressure source is not required, and the size can be reduced from this point. be able to.

The air flowing from the internal space S to the coating zone 3 through the opening 31 and the like is dust-removed.
The interior robot S and the painting robot 10 are not contaminated.

In the above embodiment, the case where the guide member is formed from the linear guide 22 has been described.
The invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, wheels.

Although the branch duct 41 is provided outside the coating booth 1, it may be provided inside the coating booth 1. Thereby, the appearance of the coating booth 1 can be further reduced. As described above, when the branch duct 41 is provided in the painting booth 1, a part or the whole of the branch duct 41 may be formed in a stretchable, snake-like shape. Thereby, the duct length can be freely changed, and the branch duct 4
1 can be more easily mounted. Further, since the branch duct 41 is connected to the air supply chamber 4, the length of the duct can be further reduced as compared with the case where the branch duct 41 is externally attached, and the cost can be further reduced.

[0040]

According to the present invention, the cover covers the area where the rail and the guide member move, and uses the supply means to supply a part of the supply air supplied to the coating zone to the interior space covered by the cover. Since the supply is performed, the paint spraying means can be smoothly and accurately run in the rail extending direction while the size is reduced, and the object to be coated can be coated with a good coating quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a painting robot.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining an installation state of a cover.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a conventional configuration of a coating apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a conventional configuration of a coating apparatus provided with a slide cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Painting booth 3 Painting zone 4 Air supply room 8 Air supply duct 10 Painting robot (Paint spraying means) 11 Main body 12 Arm 13 Paint spraying part 21 Rail 22 Linear guide (Guide member) 25 Connecting member 30 Cover 31 Opening 41 Branch duct (Supplying means) 50 Driving means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A coating apparatus in which a paint spraying means travels in a rail extending direction while spraying paint in a coating zone of a coating booth to coat an object to be coated, and is movable in the rail extending direction while being supported by the rail. And a connecting member connected to the guide member and holding the paint spraying means, and a moving region of the rail and the guide member over the entire length while allowing the moving of the connecting member in the rail extending direction. A coating apparatus, comprising: a cover for isolating from the paint spraying means; and a supply means for supplying a part of supply air supplied to the coating zone to an internal space covered by the cover.