KR20120072375A - Paint cartridge for electrostatic coating apparatus and electrostatic coating apparatus including same - Google Patents

Abstract

The amount of paint discarded at the time of color replacement is reduced, and the control of supply and discharge of the working liquid to the paint cartridge at the time of cleaning is simplified. In the washing | cleaning of the paint cartridge 10, air and a washing | cleaning liquid are supplied through the upper end inlet part 12b of the coating bag 12 in the state which was pressed, and the coating bag 12 is extended. As the paint bag 12 is expanded, the working liquid in the working liquid chamber (closed space 14) of the paint cartridge 10 is recovered through the working liquid discharge passage 26 in the cartridge. In the next step, the working liquid is supplied to the working liquid chamber (closed space 14) of the paint cartridge 10 through the working liquid supply passage 22 in the cartridge, and the paint bag 12 is pressed and crushed, thereby painting the paint bag 12 The cleaning liquid is discharged from the lower end inlet 12c of

Description

Paint cartridge for electrostatic spraying machine and electrostatic spraying machine including this {PAINT CARTRIDGE FOR ELECTROSTATIC COATING APPARATUS AND ELECTROSTATIC COATING APPARATUS INCLUDING SAME}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to electrostatic spraying machines, and more particularly, to a paint cartridge detachably attached to a sprayer body and an electrostatic spraying machine comprising the same.

As an electrostatic paint machine suitable for electroconductive paints, such as an aqueous paint and a metallic paint, a paint cartridge type electrostatic paint machine is known. The paint cartridge type electrostatic spraying machine has a paint cartridge detachably mounted to the main body of the paint machine, and the coating of the automobile body or the like is performed using the conductive paint contained in the paint cartridge. The paint cartridge type electrostatic spraying device has the advantage that the high voltage can be prevented from leaking to the outside through the conductive paint.

Conventional electrostatic spraying machines which receive paint from an external paint source are largely divided into rotary atomizing sprayers equipped with rotary atomizing heads (so-called "bell cups") and spray spraying machines, but both of these types of coatings Of course, the cartridge is applied.

The paint cartridge is also referred to as a paint cassette or paint tank unit. However, the paint cartridge can be classified into first, a piston type (Patent Documents 1 to 3) for pushing the paint into the piston, and second, pressing the paint bag by applying pressure to the paint bag. It can classify as a paint back type (patent documents 4-6) which pushes a paint out of a paint bag by crushing.

Specifically, the piston type paint cartridges of Patent Documents 1 to 3 have a paint housing chamber partitioned by a piston and a working liquid chamber on the side opposite to the paint storage chamber with a piston therebetween, and the working liquid (typically in the working liquid chamber). By supplying a non-conductive liquid such as thinner and pushing down the piston, the paint in the paint holding chamber is pushed out of the paint cartridge, and the paint is supplied to the bell cup through the feed tube. Moreover, since the paint cartridge of patent documents 1-3 is equipped with the feed tube which can be inserted in a coating machine main body, it can also be called the paint cartridge with a feed tube.

As described above, Patent Document 4 discloses a paint cartridge provided with a paint bag for forming a paint storage chamber, but the paint cartridge of Patent Document 4 includes a feed tube that can be inserted into the main body of the coating machine. Therefore, the paint cartridge disclosed in this patent document 4 can also be called a paint cartridge provided with a feed tube. Patent document 4 discloses two methods as a method of pressing a paint bag and crushing it. One of them is a method of supplying a working liquid around the paint bag, applying pressure directly to the paint bag with the working liquid, and pressing the paint bag to crush it. The other is to prepare a hydraulic fluid bag adjacent to the paint bag and also to form the hydraulic fluid chamber, supply the hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic fluid bag to expand the hydraulic fluid bag, and press the hydraulic fluid bag with the expanded hydraulic fluid bag. This is done by pressing the paint bag and crushing it.

Patent document 5 proposes to prevent a relative displacement of a paint bag and a hydraulic fluid bag by connecting the contact surfaces of a paint bag and a hydraulic fluid bag to each other in the paint cartridge provided with a paint bag and a hydraulic fluid bag. In addition, Patent Document 5 proposes filling the gap between the paint bag and the working liquid bag with a third liquid.

Patent document 6 proposes a paint cartridge which can observe the inside by making the outer case of the paint cartridge provided with a paint bag from the nylon resin which is a transparent hard plastic. Moreover, this patent document 6 has shown that the coating material also comprises transparent resin.

Moreover, the membrane pump of patent document 7 is known as a method of pushing out a coating material using a working liquid. The membrane pump of this patent document 7 does not relate to a paint cartridge. However, the case of the membrane pump has a paint port open at one end face and a working fluid port open at the other end face, and the inside of the case is divided into a paint receiving chamber and a working liquid chamber by a flexible membrane. By supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber through the working liquid port, the paint filled in the paint receiving chamber flows out through the paint port, and the spilled paint is supplied to the electrostatic sprayer. Therefore, the principle of the membrane pump of patent document 7 is applicable to a paint cartridge.

The paint cartridge which can be detached to the main body of a coating machine has a finite quantity of paint which can accommodate this. For this reason, when painting of one automobile body is complete | finished, for example, the paint cartridge is replaced for painting of the next automobile body.

Patent document 8 is performing the technical indication regarding the replacement of the paint cartridge of the coating robot provided with an electrostatic spraying machine. Specifically, when the painting of one automobile body is completed, the used paint cartridge is removed from the paint body in the paint cartridge replacement station, and then a new paint cartridge is attached to the paint body. That is, replacement of the paint cartridge. Then, while the painting robot is painting the automobile body in the middle of the painting, the paint cartridge replacement station fills the used paint cartridge with the paint, and the paint cartridge filled with the paint is stored for reuse.

Regarding filling and reusing an empty paint cartridge, color replacement is actually carried out in a piston type paint cartridge. That is, the piston type paint cartridge is also filled with paint of the same color, but as described in detail in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the inside of the paint cartridge (paint storage chamber) is cleaned to paint of different colors. Charging is also done. In the paint cartridge disclosed in Patent Literature 1, cleaning of the paint cartridge first pushes the piston a little ahead of the deepest portion of the paint housing chamber, and discharges the paint contained in the paint cartridge. Stopping the piston a little bit in front of the piston without pushing it down to the deepest part means that if the piston is pushed down to the deepest part of the paint chamber, that is, the bottom wall of the paint chamber, even if the cleaning liquid is put into the paint chamber, the interior of the paint chamber This is because the cleaning liquid cannot flow in the step (paragraph [0153] of the specification of Patent Document 1).

In this state, that is, the piston is positioned at a position slightly ahead of the deepest portion, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the paint storage chamber through the cleaning liquid supply port which is open to the bottom wall of the paint storage chamber. After flowing the inside of the paint accommodation chamber defined by the piston positioned at a position slightly ahead of the core, it is discharged to the outside through the feed tube.

Patent document 2 has pointed out the problem of the paint cartridge of the said patent document 1 regarding washing with a piston type paint cartridge. As described above, Patent Document 1 proposes to position the piston at a position slightly ahead of the deepest part and to clean the interior of the paint holding chamber defined by the piston. The method of Patent Document 1 points out that the flow of the cleaning liquid supplied to the paint storage chamber through the cleaning liquid supply port at the bottom of the paint cartridge becomes turbulent, so that the interior of the paint storage chamber cannot be uniformly cleaned. According to Patent Document 2, in particular, it is pointed out a problem that it is difficult to wash the paint drawn in the gap between the side surface of the piston and the side wall of the paint accommodation chamber, and it takes time to wash it off. And in order to solve the problem of patent document 1, patent document 2 proposes to provide the groove | channel which extends in the radial direction toward the center part of the said bottom wall in the bottom wall of a paint accommodation chamber.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-11396 Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-42036 Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 08-229446 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-87810 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-296750 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-347606 Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 04-87759 Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-317354

Paint cartridge type electrostatic spraying machines have been put to practical use in the painting of automobile bodies. And it is well-known that the coating robot which attached the electrostatic spraying machine to the arm is utilized for the painting of an automobile body. Regarding the piston type paint cartridge, as described above, color replacement of the paint cartridge which fills the paint of different colors is performed by cleaning the interior (paint storage chamber) of the paint cartridge.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 also clarify when cleaning the paint housing chamber of the paint cartridge for color replacement, but the piston is fixed in position slightly away from the bottom wall of the paint storage chamber. This means intentionally allowing a certain amount of paint to remain in the paint storage chamber for cleaning of the paint storage chamber, and the remaining paint is disposed of together with the cleaning liquid. If only attention is paid to the one color change, it can be said that the amount of paint (discarded paint) remaining in the paint storage chamber is very small. Efforts should be made to reduce the amount of paint discarded to the maximum with a single color change.

As described above, the paint cartridge can be roughly divided into a piston type and a white type, but the piston type has a more complicated mechanism than that of a white type, and in order to smoothly operate the piston in the painting process, maintenance around the piston is indispensable. For this reason, the piston-type paint cartridge has the drawback that the manufacturing cost is not only expensive compared with white type | system | group, but also requires much cost and labor for maintenance.

On the other hand, it is reused only in paint of the same color in white paint cartridge. That is, in the paint cartridge provided with the paint bag, if the paint of the paint cartridge removed from the main body of the paint is a paint of A color, the paint of A color is filled into the paint cartridge.

An object of the present invention is to provide a paint cartridge which can reduce the amount of paint discarded when cleaning the inside of the paint cartridge for color replacement with respect to the paint cartridge of the electrostatic sprayer.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of paint discarded when cleaning the interior of the paint cartridge for color replacement, and to simplify the control of supply and discharge of the working liquid to the paint cartridge during this cleaning. It is to provide a paint cartridge that can be.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a paint cartridge capable of reducing the amount of air mixed in the paint cartridge.

A further object of the present invention is to clean the interior of the paint cartridge for color replacement, and to reduce the amount of paint discarded during the cleaning, while at the same time leaking the working fluid from the paint cartridge and the main body of the paint machine. It is providing the paint cartridge which can prevent that, and the electrostatic spraying machine containing the same.

According to the first aspect of the present invention,

It has a paint containing chamber which can fill paint, and a working liquid chamber which accommodates a working liquid, supplying the cleaning liquid to the said paint receiving chamber, and expanding the volume of the said paint receiving chamber to reduce the volume of the working liquid chamber to the working liquid chamber. Is a paint cartridge which can be rinsed by supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and then expanding the volume of the working liquid chamber to reduce the volume of the working chamber to discharge the cleaning liquid from the coating chamber. ,

A working liquid supply passage for supplying a working liquid to the working liquid chamber;

A working liquid discharge passage for discharging the working liquid from the working liquid chamber and also independent from the working liquid supply passage;

A first opening / closing valve interposed in the working fluid supply passage;

It is achieved by providing a paint cartridge having a second open / close valve interposed in the working fluid discharge passage.

The paint cartridge of the present invention,

The cleaning liquid is supplied to the paint containing chamber of the used paint cartridge which has taken out the paint from the paint containing chamber to enlarge the volume of the paint containing chamber, and at the same time, to increase the volume of the paint containing chamber. A hydraulic fluid ejecting step of extruding hydraulic fluid from the paint cartridge;

Subsequent to the step of extruding the working liquid, the working liquid is supplied to the working liquid chamber of the paint cartridge to enlarge the working liquid chamber, and at the same time, the cleaning liquid of the paint containing chamber is coated with the volume of the working liquid chamber. It is washable by the method which has a washing | cleaning liquid discharge process which pushes a washing | cleaning liquid out of a cartridge.

The working fluid pushing out step and the washing liquid draining step subsequent to this may be performed in one pair, and this may be performed once. However, if the cleaning is insufficient as a result of the practice, the tank of this step is repeated a plurality of times. You may complete a washing | cleaning.

As described above, the paint cartridge of the present invention,

A working liquid supply passage for supplying a working liquid to the working liquid chamber;

A working liquid discharge passage for discharging the working liquid from the working liquid chamber and also independent from the working liquid supply passage;

A first opening / closing valve interposed in the working fluid supply passage;

Has a second open / close valve interposed in the working fluid discharge passage;

The supply of the working liquid to the paint cartridge is performed through the working liquid supply passage, while the discharge of the working liquid in the paint cartridge is performed through the working liquid discharge passage different from the working liquid supply passage.

The amount of the working liquid supplied to the paint cartridge (working liquid chamber) is controlled, and the working liquid is supplied to the working liquid chamber under pressure. On the other hand, when the washing liquid is supplied to the paint holding chamber, the volume of the paint holding chamber is enlarged with this, and the working liquid in the working liquid chamber is manually discharged from the working liquid chamber with the expansion of the paint holding chamber volume.

That is, in the cleaning of the paint cartridge, a controlled amount of the working liquid under pressure is supplied to the working liquid chamber, while the working liquid in the working liquid chamber is forcibly forced by the volume reduction of the working liquid chamber accompanied by the expansion of the paint accommodation chamber volume. It is also manually discharged from the working fluid chamber. In this way, the supply of the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and the discharging of the working liquid from the working liquid chamber are different in form, so that the working liquid supply passage and the working liquid discharge passage in the paint cartridge are constituted by independent passages, so that the working liquid chamber It is possible to facilitate the control of the supply and discharge of the working liquid to.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the working liquid discharge passage communicates with an upper end of the working liquid chamber. Thereby, even if air intrudes into a working liquid chamber, since this air is located in the upper part of a working liquid chamber, it is discharged | emitted outside with a working liquid through a working liquid discharge passage. Needless to say, if air, which is a compressed fluid, exists in the working liquid chamber, the supply amount of the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and the amount of the paint coming out of the paint accommodation chamber do not coincide.

Moreover, according to the 2nd viewpoint of this invention, the said technical subject is

It has a paint containing chamber which can fill paint, and a working liquid chamber which accommodates a working liquid, supplying the cleaning liquid to the said paint receiving chamber, and expanding the volume of the said paint receiving chamber to reduce the volume of the working liquid chamber to the working liquid chamber. Is a paint cartridge which can be rinsed by supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and then expanding the volume of the working liquid chamber to reduce the volume of the working chamber to discharge the cleaning liquid from the coating chamber. ,

A working liquid supply passage for supplying a working liquid to the working liquid chamber;

A working liquid discharge passage for discharging the working liquid from the working liquid chamber and also independent from the working liquid supply passage;

A first opening / closing valve interposed in the working fluid supply passage and disposed at a position adjacent to a lower end surface of the paint cartridge;

It has a second opening and closing valve interposed in the working fluid discharge passage,

The paint cartridge comprising the first on-off valve comprising a first fixed valve seat, a first movable valve body seated on the first fixed valve seat, and a spring for urging the first movable valve body toward the fixed valve seat. Is an electrostatic sprayer having a detachable sprayer body,

A push rod that is open to an upper end surface of the sprayer body and is provided at a hydraulic fluid outlet portion of the hydraulic fluid supply passage in the sprayer body that is in communication with the hydraulic fluid supply passage of the paint cartridge, and the push rod is advanced to thereby A push rod equipped with an actuator capable of pushing up the first movable valve body of the on-off valve;

Has a second fixed valve seat formed at said hydraulic fluid outlet portion of the hydraulic fluid supply passage in said sprayer body,

The push rod has a second valve body portion constituting an opening / closing valve in the sprayer body for opening and closing the working fluid supply passage in the sprayer body by seating on the second fixed valve seat at a portion thereof;

And when the push rod moves forward to push up the first movable valve body, the second valve body portion of the push rod is spaced apart from the second fixed valve seat to open and close the valve in the sprayer body. It is achieved by providing an electrostatic sprayer.

According to the invention according to the second aspect, in addition to the above-mentioned effect, facilitating the control of the supply and discharge of the working liquid to the working liquid chamber, the working liquid can be prevented from leaking from the working liquid device passage of the paint cartridge, In addition, it is possible to prevent the hydraulic fluid from leaking from the sprayer body.

Other objects and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram of the electrostatic spraying machine provided with the white paint cartridge of the Example provided in the arm of a painting robot, and is a figure which shows the coating process of an electrostatic spraying machine.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the paint bag accommodated in the paint cartridge of FIG. 1.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the bag body along the III-III line of FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the upper end inlet along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2.
Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the one-way valve provided at the lower end of the paint passage leading to the lower end inlet of the paint bag of the paint cartridge, showing a state where the paint cartridge is fixed to the sprayer body.
It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 5, Comprising: It is the figure which shows the state which forcibly opened the one-way valve provided in the lower end part of the paint path of the paint cartridge by the actuator provided with the push rod on the sprayer main body side.
FIG. 7 is a detailed view of an actuator provided with a push rod for forcibly opening a one-way valve installed at a lower end portion of a working liquid supply passage leading to a sealed space of a paint cartridge.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part extracted from the main part of FIG. 7, and is a view for explaining that the one-way valve of the working liquid supply passage of the paint cartridge can be forcibly opened by the push rod. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a step of washing the paint supply passage of the sprayer main body with the paint cartridge mounted after the paint cartridge is used up.
10 is a view for explaining a process of cleaning the interior of the paint bag by fixing the empty paint cartridge removed from the sprayer body to a predetermined position of the paint bag cleaning station after cleaning of the sprayer body is completed.
It is a figure for demonstrating the process of filling a paint bag with a paint bag after washing a paint cartridge.
It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the voltage block mechanism mounted in the robot arm when the working liquid supplied to a paint cartridge is a conductive liquid (typically water).
It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the cleaning method of a paint cartridge, and is a figure for demonstrating the modification of a paint bag.
It is a figure for demonstrating the washing | cleaning method of the paint cartridge provided with the working liquid bag to which this invention is applicable.
Fig. 15 is a view for explaining another cleaning method of a paint cartridge having a working liquid bag to which the present invention is applicable.
It is a figure for demonstrating that this invention is applicable also to the washing | cleaning of a piston type paint cartridge.

<Examples>

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. 1 is a view for explaining the outline of the electrostatic sprayer mounted on the painting robot. In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an arm of the painting robot, and an electrostatic spraying machine 2 is provided at the tip of the robot arm 1. Although the electrostatic spraying machine 2 exemplarily shows the rotary atomizing spraying machine provided with the bell cup 4 as a paint atomization means, the present invention can also be suitably applied to a spray type.

The electrostatic sprayer 2 is a paint cartridge type coater. Specifically, the electrostatic sprayer 2 has a sprayer body 6 fixed to the tip of the robot arm 1 and an upper end surface of the sprayer body 6, that is, a surface opposite to the bell cup 4. It has a paint cartridge 10 mounted in it. The paint cartridge 10 is detachable from the sprayer main body 6.

The paint cartridge 10 has a paint bag 12 constituting a paint storage chamber for filling paint. The paint of the paint bag 12 is forcibly reduced by applying pressure to the paint bag 12 from the outside and pressing the paint bag 12 to crush it, thereby forcibly reducing the volume of the paint storage chamber formed of the paint bag 12. The sprayer main body 6 can be supplied.

The paint cartridge 10 has the sealed space 14 which accommodated the paint bag 12, This sealed space 14 is formed by the outer case 16. As shown in FIG. The outer case 16 is preferably made of a transparent or translucent hard material, and is typically made of a transparent or translucent plastic material.

The paint cartridge 10 is a cartridge of a system in which pressure is applied directly to the paint bag 12 with a working liquid. For this reason, the circumference | surroundings of the paint bag 12 are filled with a working liquid. The working liquid is suitably employed as an insulating liquid, and typically an insulating thinner is used as the working liquid. Since air is not preferably mixed in the working liquid in the sealed space 14 constituting the working liquid chamber, in order to capture the air in the sealed space 14, the sealed space 14 has convex air at its top. It is preferable to have the storage part 14a.

2 is a front view of the paint bag 12. The paint bag 12 is a cylindrical flexible plastic molded article opened up and down. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 2, the paint bag 12 has the cylindrical bag main body 12a extended up and down, and the upper end inlet part 12b extended upward from the upper end part of this bag main body 12a. And a lower end inlet 12c extending downward from the lower end of the bag main body 12a. That is, the paint bag 12 is opened up and down via the inlets 12b and 12c of the upper end part and the lower end part. As for this paint bag 12, the upper part inlet part 12b and the lower part inlet part 12c are being fixed to the paint cartridge 10, and the bag main body 12a is transversed by the hydraulic fluid supplied to the sealed space 14. As shown in FIG. Press in the direction to crush. The bag main body 12a of the paint bag 12 is formed in the shape in which the corner part between the upper end inlet part 12b and the lower end inlet part 12c was smoothly curved.

By the way, the paint bag currently implemented is made by heat-sealing two thin flexible sheets, and it is easy to attach a paint to the inner surface of a paint bag, and also about the thing which minimizes the quantity of the paint which remains in a paint bag as much as possible. There was no consideration. As can be seen from this, in the conventional white paint cartridge, the idea is to fill and reuse the same color paint, and there is no idea of reusing the paint cartridge by washing the inside of the paint bag. .

The paint bag 12 of the Example is a molded article which consists of flexible synthetic resin materials manufactured using the shaping | molding die, and the inner surface of the paint bag 12 is comprised from the seamless and smooth surface. In the paint bag 12 of this embodiment, low molecular polyethylene is employed as the material, but this is because the low molecular polyethylene is a material suitable for making a thin and flexible bag in blow molding. The low molecular polyethylene is a resin material with durability required for cleaning the interior of the paint bag 12 and reusing the paint bag 12 several times.

Of course, the material and the shaping | molding method of the coating bag 12 are not limited to the low molecular polyethylene and blow molding mentioned above. In order to reduce the amount of paint discarded at the time of internal cleaning and the cleaning of the paint bag 12 to an extreme, as a characteristic of the paint bag 12, (1) moderate flexibility of at least the bag body 12a, and (2) water repellency (3) It is good to have a seamless and smooth inner surface. Therefore, as long as this condition is satisfied, the molding method and the resin material of the coating bag 12 can be arbitrarily selected. In addition, the inner surface of the paint bag 12 may be treated to impart water repellency and seamlessness to the inner surface of the paint bag 12. For example, the nylon resin or the fluorine resin-based FEP is a resin material excellent in chemical resistance and self-lubrication property. However, the coating bag 12 may be formed using these resins. For example, you may make it coat the inner surface of the coating bag 12 with FEP material. As a method of the inner surface treatment of the coating bag 12, a coating method, a lining method, and a resin vapor deposition method are mentioned to an example. Moreover, a coating layer can also be formed in the inner surface of the coating bag 12 by immersing the coating bag 12 in the liquid of suitable resin material.

As described above, the paint bag 12 in FIG. 2 is designed to push the paint out of the lower end inlet 12c by the bag main body 12a being crushed in the lateral direction. If necessary to improve the crushing characteristics of the bag main body 12a, as shown by an imaginary line in Figs. 2 and 4, the bag main body 12a has a singular or plural lengthwise extending in the longitudinal direction thereof. The long groove 12d may be integrally formed.

As for the paint bag 12 which comprises a paint storage chamber, it is good that at least the bag main body 12a is transparent or translucent. If the bag body 12a is transparent or translucent, there is an advantage that the color of the paint in the bag body 12a and the filling amount of the paint can be visually confirmed from the outside. Moreover, it becomes easy to find that the paint bag 12 is damaged and a paint leaks. This advantage is based on the premise that the outer case 16 forming the working liquid chamber (sealed space 14) is transparent or translucent.

3 shows the cross-sectional shape of the main body 12a, and FIG. 4 shows the cross-sectional shape of the upper end inlet 12b. The upper end inlet 12b is circular in cross section, and although not shown, the lower end inlet 12c also has a circular cross section. These upper end inlets 12b and lower end inlets 12c are fixed to the paint cartridge 10.

Returning to FIG. 1, the paint cartridge 10 has the first to fourth four inner passages 20, 22, 24, and 26. The first internal passage 20 is a paint passage communicating with the lower end inlet portion 12c of the paint bag 12. The second internal passage 22 is a working liquid supply passage communicating with a lower end portion of the sealed space 14 constituting the working liquid chamber. The third internal passage 24 is a cleaning liquid supply passage communicating with the upper end inlet 12b of the paint bag 12. The fourth internal passage 26 is a working liquid discharge passage communicating with the upper end portion (air storage portion 14a) of the sealed space 14.

The first to fourth internal passages 20 to 26 are open to the lower surface of the paint cartridge 10. The lower surface of the paint cartridge 10 constitutes a contact surface with the sprayer main body 6 when the paint cartridge 10 is mounted on the sprayer main body 6.

Check valves 30, 32, 34, 36 functioning as on / off valves are assembled in the first to fourth internal passages 20 to 26, respectively. In FIG. 1, the first to fourth check valves 30 to 36 are shown at positions spaced apart from the lower surface of the paint cartridge 10, but this is for drawing reasons and the first to fourth check valves 30 are shown in FIG. 1. , 32, 34, 36 are actually arranged adjacent to the lower surface of the paint cartridge 10. The 1st thru | or 4th check valves 30-36 which function as an on-off valve are comprised from the fixed valve seat and the spring pressurized movable valve body. Since such a check valve is conventionally well-known, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted, but the special check valve is employ | adopted as the 1st check valve 30 of the 1st internal passage (painting passage) 20. As shown in FIG. The first check valve 30 will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

Subsequently, the sprayer main body 6 and the robot arm 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. In the coating machine main body 6, the recessed part 40 is formed in the upper end surface, ie, the surface opposite to the bell cup 4, and the paint cartridge 10 is accommodated by this recessed part 40. FIG. When the paint cartridge 10 is accommodated in the recess 40, the paint cartridge 10 is fixed to the sprayer main body 6 by a lock mechanism 42 operated by air.

The sprayer main body 6 has a paint supply passage 44 for supplying the paint received from the paint cartridge 10 to the bell cup 4, and a trigger valve 46 is interposed therein. It is installed. This trigger valve 46 is comprised by the opening-closing valve which opens and closes by pilot air. In the figure, reference numeral 48 denotes an air motor, and the bell cup is driven to rotate by the air motor 48.

JP Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-262699 discloses a piston type paint cartridge similar to Patent Documents 1 to 3, and also discloses a paint cartridge provided with a feed tube. In FIG. 5 of this JP Patent application publication 11-262699, the detail of the valve mechanism which opens and closes the front end (lower end) opening of a feed tube is shown. The valve mechanism at the front end (lower end) of the feed tube corresponds to the trigger valve 46 described above, but the valve mechanism of JP-A-11-262699 discloses a piston rod of an air cylinder built into a sprayer body. Is inserted from an upstream end of the feed tube so that the piston rod extends over the entire length of the feed tube. And the needle valve mechanism is comprised by the front end part (lower end part) of a piston rod, and the front end part (lower end part) of a feed tube. This needle valve mechanism corresponds to the trigger valve 46 described above included in the embodiment of the present invention.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the paint cartridge 10 without the feed tube is employed, the paint supply passage of the sprayer main body 6 is used as the paint opening / closing valve inside the sprayer main body 6. The simple structure only by attaching the air-driven trigger valve 46 to 44 can be employ | adopted.

The sprayer main body 6 has a hydraulic fluid supply passage 50 for supplying the hydraulic fluid to the paint cartridge 10, and the hydraulic fluid supply passage 50 in the sprayer main body is an arm of the robot arm 1. It leads to the internal working fluid supply passage 52.

Referring to the hydraulic fluid supply passage 52 of the robot arm 1, the hydraulic fluid supply passage 52 in the arm supplies the hydraulic fluid supplied from the hydraulic fluid source 54 to the paint cartridge 10 under pressure. The pump 56 is mounted on the robot arm 1. The pump 56 is preferably a gear pump, for example, capable of precise flow rate control. The working liquid supplied under pressure from the pump 56 is supplied to the paint cartridge 10 by operating the passage switching valve 58 provided in the robot arm 1 or the sprayer main body 6, or the reflux passage. Through 60 is returned to the working fluid source 54. The working liquid of the working liquid source 54 is an insulating liquid (typically an insulating thinner). As a variant, the pump 56 is not installed in the robot arm 1, but is provided outside the painting robot, so that the supply control of the working liquid to the paint cartridge 10 is controlled by the robot arm 1 or the sprayer main body. You may carry out by the channel | path switching valve 58 built in (6).

In addition to the pump 56 (gear pump) described above, the robot arm 1 incorporates a high voltage k °° generator 62. The high voltage generated by the high voltage generator 62 is applied to the bell cup 4. Of course, the high voltage generator 62 may be incorporated in the sprayer main body 6.

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 64 denotes an air discharge passage through which air mixed into the working liquid (insulating thinner) is drawn out, and this air discharge passage 64 is painted through an on / off valve 66 driven by air. It is connected to the working liquid supply passage 50 in the main body. The on / off valve 66 is occasionally opened to return the hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic fluid supply passage 50 in the sprayer body or the hydraulic fluid supply passage 52 in the arm to the hydraulic fluid source 54, thereby operating fluid in the sprayer body. Air mixed in the supply passage 50 or the working liquid supply passage 52 in the arm can be discharged.

It should be noted that the sprayer body 6 has a cleaning liquid supply passage 70. One end of the cleaning liquid supply passage 70 is connected to the paint supply passage 44 at an upstream end of the above-described paint supply passage 44 in the sprayer body, that is, the portion adjacent to the cartridge accommodating recess 40. have. The other end (upstream end) of the washing | cleaning liquid supply passage 70 in this sprayer main body is open to the side surface of the upper end part of the sprayer main body 6, and the 5th check valve 72 is arrange | positioned at this opening part. . The fifth check valve 72 is conventionally composed of a fixed valve seat and a spring-loaded movable valve body.

As a second point to be noted, the sprayer main body 6 has actuators 74 and 76 provided with two push rods adjacent to the cartridge accommodating recess 40, and the first and second actuators 74 and 76 are driven by air. The push rod 74a (FIG. 6) of the first actuator 74 acts on the first check valve 30 (paint passage) of the paint cartridge 10 to forcibly open the first check valve 30. . The push rod 76a of the second actuator 76 acts on the second check valve 32 (working fluid supply passage) of the paint cartridge 10 to forcibly open the second check valve 32 ( 8).

5 and 6 show the first check valve 30 of the paint cartridge 10. As described above, the first check valve 30 is interposed in the first inner passage 20 through which the paint from the paint bag 12 passes. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the paint cartridge 10 has a stepped sleeve 300 protruding downward from its lower end face and displaceable up and down, and at the lower end of the movable sleeve 300, the first The valve seat 302 of the check valve 30 is formed. The movable valve body 304 seated on the valve seat 302 is pressurized in the direction (downward direction) to seat the valve seat 302 by the inner circumferential spring 306. On the other hand, the step sleeve 300 is pressed downward by the outer circumferential spring 308. The lower end surface of the movable valve body 304 is provided with a housing member 310 that projects downward, and the housing member 310 protrudes downward from the stepped sleeve 300. The push rod 74a of the above-described first actuator 74 contacts the receiving member 310 and pushes it up, thereby forcibly opening the first check valve 30 employed as an on / off valve (FIG. 6). ).

In the recess 40 of the sprayer main body 6, a second recess 402 for accommodating the lower end portion of the stepped sleeve 300, that is, the small diameter portion 300a, is formed. In the center part of the part 402, the paint supply passage 44 on the coating machine side is opened. In other words, the paint supply passage 44 is opened at the center of the bottom of the second recess 402. Moreover, the sealing ring 404 is arrange | positioned at the outer periphery of the opening of the paint supply passage 44 in the bottom face of this 2nd recessed part 402. As shown in FIG.

5 and 6 position the paint cartridge 10 in the recess 40 of the sprayer main body 6, and the paint cartridge 10 is locked by the lock means 42 (FIG. 1). The state fixed to 6) is shown. Note that the seal ring 404 is interposed between the lower end face of the stepped sleeve 300 and the bottom face of the second recess 402. Since the step sleeve 300 of the paint cartridge 10 is pushed downward by the outer circumferential spring 308, the lower end surface of the step sleeve 300 is fixed by fixing the paint cartridge 10 to the sprayer main body 6. Is pressed against the sealing ring 404. Since the connection part of the 1st inner passage (paint passage) 20 of the paint cartridge 10 and the paint supply passage 44 of the sprayer main body 6 is sealed by the sealing ring 404, a paint cartridge The coating material from (10) can be prevented from returning to the cartridge accommodating recess 40 or the second recess 402 of the sprayer main body 6 to contaminate these recesses 40 and 402. have.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the first check valve 30 of the paint cartridge 10 functions as a stopper valve. In this state of FIG. 5, the first check valve 30 functions as an original check valve. To prevent the paint from flowing out of the paint cartridge 10 (the paint passage 20 in the cartridge is blocked).

6 shows the state which forcibly pushed up the movable valve body 304 of the 1st check valve 30 with the push rod 74a, and forcibly opened the 1st check valve 30. As shown in FIG. As described above, the push rod 74a is operated by the first actuator 74 provided in the sprayer main body 6 in association with the first check valve 30. The first actuator 74 is driven by air. In the forced open state shown in FIG. 6, since the movable valve body 304 of the first check valve 30 employed as the on-off valve is spaced apart from the valve seat 302, the paint of the paint bag 12 Can flow out of the paint cartridge 10 from the lower end opening 12c through the paint passage 20 in the cartridge (the paint passage 20 in the cartridge is opened).

As mentioned above, the paint cartridge 10 has the sleeve 300 which can be displaced up and down. The sleeve 300 constitutes an outlet portion through which the paint of the paint bag 12 constituting the paint containing chamber flows out, and is protruded downward from the lower surface of the paint cartridge 10. The first check valve 30 is provided at the lower end of the sleeve 300. In addition, the movable sleeve 300 is pressed downward by the outer circumferential spring 308. On the other hand, the sprayer main body 6 has a 2nd recessed part 402 which accommodates the small diameter part 300a of the sleeve 300, and is a sprayer in the center part of the bottom face of this 2nd recessed part 402. An upper end of the paint supply passage 44 of the main body 6 is opened, and a seal ring 404 is disposed around the opening.

When the paint cartridge 10 is assembled to the sprayer main body 6, the lower end surface of the spring-pressed movable sleeve 300 (small diameter part 300a) press-contacts the sealing ring 404, and thereby a paint cartridge ( The paint transition passage between the sleeve 300 constituting the paint outlet of 10) and the paint supply passage 44 of the sprayer body 6 is sealed by the seal ring 404. Thereby, the paint which came out from the paint cartridge 10 can be prevented from contaminating the wall surface etc. of the 2nd recessed part 402. FIG.

By the above structure, the paint supply passage 44 of the sprayer main body 6 can be cleaned as it is with the paint cartridge 10 mounted. This advantage is not limited to the white paint cartridge 10 of the embodiment, but also applies to the piston paint cartridge and the paint cartridge employing the membrane pump disclosed in Patent Document 7, which are known in the related art. In the pump type paint cartridge, the advantage of employing the above structure is particularly great as long as the paint cartridge has a configuration in which the feed tube is omitted.

7 and 8 show a second actuator provided in the sprayer main body 6 for forcibly opening the second check valve 32 of the second inner passage (working fluid supply passage) 22 of the paint cartridge 10. Detailed diagram of (76). The second actuator 76 advances and retracts the push rod 76a by moving in and out of the air, and pushes the push rod 76a forward to forcibly push the movable valve body 320 of the second check valve 32 into the valve seat ( 322) (FIG. 8). This point is similar to the first actuator 74 and the first check valve 30 described above, but the second actuator 76 with the push rod 76a adopts a characteristic structure in the following points. It is.

That is, the push rod 76a of the second actuator 76 of the sprayer main body 6 forcibly moves the movable valve body 320 of the second check valve 32 from the valve seat 322 at the upper end surface thereof. In addition to having a function of spaced apart (FIG. 8), the push rod 76a constitutes a part of the opening / closing valve mechanism for opening and closing the hydraulic fluid supply passage 50 of the sprayer main body 6.

Referring to FIG. 7, the push rod 76a constitutes a sleeve 500 that constitutes an outlet portion of the hydraulic fluid supply passage 50 in the sprayer body (the hydraulic fluid outlet portion facing the cartridge receiving recess 40). ), A valve seat 502 is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the upper end of the sleeve 500. On the other hand, in the push rod 76a, the valve body 504 which expanded in the radial direction is formed in the upper end part. These valve seats 502 and the valve body 504 constitute an opening / closing valve mechanism 506 for opening and closing the outlet portion of the hydraulic fluid supply passage 50 of the sprayer body 6.

In the opening / closing valve mechanism 506 in FIG. 7, when the push rod 76a is displaced upward, the valve body 504 integral with the push rod 76a is spaced apart from the valve seat 502. Open. As described above, when the push rod 76a is displaced upward, the second check valve 32 of the paint cartridge 10 is forcibly opened (arrow in FIG. 8).

When the push rod 76a is displaced downward, the valve body 504 seats on the valve seat 502 and the on-off valve mechanism 506 is in a closed state. Of course, since the 2nd check valve 32 of the paint cartridge 10 exhibits the function as the original check valve by the retraction operation of this push rod 76a, this 2nd check valve 32 is carried out. This can prevent the hydraulic fluid from leaking from the paint cartridge 10.

The push rod 76a has a flange 78 fixed to its proximal end (lower end in FIG. 7), and the flange 78 is pressed downward by a spring 80. Therefore, the push rod 76a is always pressurized downward and as a result, the open / close valve mechanism 506 is pressurized by the spring 80 in the valve closing direction.

By the above structure, even if the paint cartridge 10 is attached to the sprayer main body 6 and the paint cartridge 10 is fixed to the sprayer main body 6, the 2nd actuator 76 is operated. As long as it is not made, the working liquid (insulating thinner) does not leak from the sprayer main body 6. Of course, in the paint cartridge 10 as well, leakage of the working liquid (insulating thinner) from the sealed space 14 (the working liquid chamber) is prevented by the second check valve 32.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, with reference to this FIG. 1, operation | movement of the electrostatic spraying machine 2 in a painting process is demonstrated. In the painting step, the first and second actuators 74 and 76 operate to move the push rods 74a and 76a, and the first and second check valves 30 move forward by the push rods 74a and 76a. And 32 remain forced open (both the paint passage 20 in the cartridge and the working fluid supply passage 22 in the cartridge are opened).

(1) the first check valve 30 (paint passage in the cartridge) is forced open;

(2) The second check valve 32 (the working fluid supply passage in the cartridge) is forcibly opened.

By controlling ON / OFF of the gear pump 56 or controlling the passage switching valve 58, the amount of the working liquid (insulating thinner) supplied to the paint cartridge 10 can be controlled. Then, by applying pressure to the paint bag 12 with the working liquid supplied to the paint cartridge 10, the paint bag 12 can be discharged in a controlled state. The ON / OFF of the gear pump 56 and the passage switching operation of the passage switching valve 58 are performed in synchronization with opening and closing of the trigger valve 46 of the sprayer main body 6. Thereby, the precision of the control of supply start and supply stop of the paint to the bell cup 4 can be improved.

At the time when the predetermined painting is completed, the paint bag 12 constituting the paint container is completely pressed and crushed, and at this time, the internal volume of the paint bag 12 (paint container) is minimal, and thus the paint The amount of paint remaining in the bag 12 is very small compared with the conventional piston-type paint cartridge.

When changing the color of the electrostatic sprayer 2, the paint cartridge 10 is mounted before removing the paint cartridge 10 from the sprayer main body 6 and replacing it with the paint cartridge 10 of a paint of a different color. The paint supply passage 44 and the bell cup 4 in the sprayer main body 6 are washed as it is.

9 shows the cleaning process of the paint supply passage 44 and the bell cup 4 of the sprayer body 6. In this washing | cleaning process, washing is performed as it is with the used paint cartridge 10 attached to the sprayer main body 6. As shown in FIG. In the washing step, the operations of the first and second actuators 74 and 76 are released and the push rods 74a and 76a retreat, whereby the first and second check valves 30 and 32 are inherently check valves. By exerting a function, the paint passage 20 and the working liquid supply passage 22 in the cartridge are closed.

The cleaning nozzle 84 is inserted into the cleaning liquid supply passage 70 that is open to the side of the sprayer main body 6. When the cleaning nozzle 84 is inserted into the inlet of the cleaning liquid supply passage 70, the fifth check valve 72 disposed at the inlet of the cleaning liquid supply passage 70 is forcibly opened by the cleaning nozzle 84. . By operating the outer passage switching valve 86, the cleaning liquid or air is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 84 to the cleaning liquid supply passage 70 under pressure. Prior to the supply of the cleaning liquid or air, the trigger valve 46 interposed in the paint supply passage 44 in the sprayer body is opened. In addition, the bell cup 4 is driven to rotate with the start of supply of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle 84.

The state of each valve in the washing | cleaning process of the paint supply passage 44 in a coating machine main body is as follows.

(1) forced opening of the first check valve 30 (paint) is released (function of a normal check valve);

(2) the forced opening of the second check valve 32 (working fluid supply) is released (function of a normal check valve);

(3) the fifth check valve 72 (the cleaning liquid in the coating machine body) is forcibly opened by the cleaning nozzle 84;

(4) the trigger valve 46 is open;

(5) The bell cup 4 rotates.

When the cleaning liquid or air is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 84 under pressure, the cleaning liquid or air passes through the cleaning liquid supply passage 70 of the sprayer main body 6 and flows into the paint supply passage 44 in the sprayer main body. Then, it passes through the paint supply passage 44 and is discharged from the bell cup 4. The flow of the cleaning liquid or air purifies the paint supply passage 44 and the bell cup 4 in the sprayer body. Typically, the cleaning liquid and air are alternately supplied to the sprayer main body 6 from the cleaning nozzle 84.

Since the downstream end is connected to the upstream end (upper end) of the paint supply passage 44 in the sprayer main body as mentioned above, the washing | cleaning liquid supply passage 70 or the washing | cleaning liquid which flowed into the paint supply passage 44 or The air reaches the tip of the first check valve 30 protruding from the lower end of the paint cartridge 10 and purifies the tip of the first check valve 30. Since the first check valve 30 functions as an original check valve to close the paint passage 20 in the cartridge (FIG. 5), the paint passage 20 in the cartridge and the paint supply passage in the sprayer main body (FIG. 5). 44 is in a state separated by the first check valve 30. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from infiltrating into the paint bag 12 by the first check valve 30. The washing liquid is typically thinner, but may be washing water in which a surfactant is added to water.

In addition, between the sleeve 300 incorporating the first check valve 30 and the second recess 402 housing the lower end portion 300a of the lower portion of the sleeve 300, Since the sealing ring 404 at which the front end face is press-fitted is mounted (FIG. 5), the portion of the paint transition passage defined by the sealing ring 404 is also cleaned by the cleaning liquid or air, but also includes the paint. Contamination of the entire wall surface of the second concave portion 402 with the cleaning liquid can be prevented. Therefore, not only the paint supply passage 44 of the sprayer main body 6 but also the connection part with the paint cartridge 10 can be cleaned by said washing liquid. In addition, the tip portion of the sleeve 300 constituting the paint outlet of the paint cartridge 10 can also be cleaned. This is a noteworthy advantage not seen in the prior art. Of course, the structure which exhibits this advantage is not limited to a white paint cartridge as a general theory, but is applicable also to a piston paint cartridge and a membrane pump cartridge. In addition, regarding the washing | cleaning of the bell cup 4, you may make it spray | spray the bell cup 4 from the exterior as needed. When the cleaning of the sprayer main body 6 is completed, air is finally supplied from the cleaning nozzle 84 to the sprayer main body 6, whereby the paint supply passage 44 and the bell cup 4 in the sprayer main body. The cleaning liquid attached to the is removed.

After the washing | cleaning of the sprayer main body 6 is completed, the paint cartridge 10 mounted in the sprayer main body 6 is replaced next. Since the cleaning of the sprayer main body 6 and the cleaning of the seal ring 404 have been completed, the painting can be resumed only by attaching the paint cartridge 10 filled with the paint of a different color to the sprayer main body 6. Can be.

The paint cartridge 10 removed from the sprayer main body 6 is cleaned of the paint bag 12. It is a figure for demonstrating a paint bag washing process. The used paint cartridge 10 is positioned at a predetermined position of the bag cleaning station 88. This positioning is the same as the positioning with respect to the sprayer main body 6, and when the paint cartridge 10 is positioned in a predetermined position, the paint cartridge 10 is fixed by the lock mechanism 90. FIG.

The bag cleaning station 88 has an actuator 880, 882, 884 with first to fourth push rods corresponding to the first to fourth check valves 30, 32, 34, 36 of the paint cartridge 10. 886). The actuators 880 to 886 with the first to fourth push rods have substantially the same functions as the actuators 74 and 76 with the first and second push rods of the sprayer body 6 described above. Since it is an exercise, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

The paint bag 12 of the original paint cartridge 10 installed in the bag cleaning station 88 is in a crushed state. The cleaning of the paint bag 12 constituting the paint storage chamber (i) expands the paint bag 12 to enlarge the volume of the paint storage chamber. (Ii) presses the paint bag 12 and crushes the paint storage chamber. A cleaning liquid and air are put into the coating bag 12 with the operation of reducing the volume of the liquid, and the cleaning liquid and air are discharged. "Expansion and crushing" of the coating bag 12 may be set as one group, and this may be completed once and may be repeated multiple times. Of course, if necessary, prior to washing the paint bag 12, the paint bag 12 may be pressed and crushed to the maximum to recover the paint remaining in the paint bag 12 to the maximum.

The states of each open / close valve, i.e., check valves 30, 32, 34, 36 in the expansion step of the paint bag are as follows.

(1) forced opening of the first check valve 30 (paint) is released (function of a normal check valve);

(2) the forced opening of the second check valve 32 (working fluid supply) is released (function of a normal check valve);

(3) the third check valve 34 (cleaning liquid supply) is forced open;

(4) The fourth check valve 36 (operating fluid discharge) is forced open.

The bag cleaning station 88 is provided with an air source and a cleaning liquid source (thinner or water) as shown in FIG. 10, and air or cleaning liquid is supplied from the air source and the cleaning liquid source. The air and the cleaning liquid are switched by the passage switching valve 888. Air and cleaning liquid are alternately supplied to the paint bag 12 via the third internal passage (cleaning liquid supply passage) 24 of the paint cartridge 10 through the passage switching valve 888. As mentioned above, the 1st check valve 30 of the exit (lower part inlet part 12c) of the paint bag 12 functions as a normal check valve, and is in the state which closed the paint passage 20. As shown in FIG. By supplying air or paint to the inside of the paint bag 12 from the third inner passage (washing liquid supply passage) 24 of the paint cartridge 10 through the upper end inlet portion 12b of the paint bag 12 ( 12) is expanded. With this, the working liquid filling the sealed space 14 constituting the working liquid chamber of the paint cartridge 10 is the fourth internal passage 26 (working liquid discharge passage) opened to the air storage portion 14a. Is forced out of the paint cartridge 10 by force and manually. The working liquid from the paint cartridge 10 is recovered to the working liquid source.

As a specific washing | cleaning method of the coating bag 12, the following example is mentioned.

First Step (Expansion Step of Paint Bag): Air is supplied to the paint bag 12 through a third internal passage (cleaning liquid supply passage) 24 to expand the paint bag 12, thereby to form the inside of the paint bag 12. Increase the volume to near maximum. Thereby, the main body 12a of the coating bag 12 can be made into the state without wrinkles. The first check valve 30 (paint) is in a closed state.

2nd process (washing liquid supply process): A washing | cleaning liquid is supplied to the coating bag 12, a washing | cleaning liquid flows along the inner surface of the coating bag 12, and the coating bag 12 is wash | cleaned. The first check valve 30 (paint) is in a closed state.

Third step (pressing and crushing of the paint bag): The paint bag 12 is pressed and crushed to reduce the internal volume of the paint bag 12 to discharge the cleaning liquid of the paint bag 12.

If necessary, the second and third steps are repeated.

The state of each open / close valve (return valve 30, 32, 34, 36) in the said 3rd process (pressing crushing process) of the paint bag 12 is as follows.

(1) the first check valve 30 (paint) is forced open;

(2) the second check valve 32 (working fluid supply) was forced open;

(3) forced opening of the third check valve 34 (cleaning liquid supply) is released (function of a normal check valve);

(4) The forced opening of the fourth check valve 36 (operating fluid discharge) is released (function of a normal check valve).

In the back washing station 88, a gear pump 890 is provided as shown in FIG. In the third process (pressing and crushing process), the amount of the working liquid controlled by the gear pump 890 is supplied to the paint cartridge 10 under pressure. When the working liquid enters the sealed space 14 (working liquid chamber) of the paint cartridge 10, the working bag 12 is pressed and crushed by the working fluid, so that the air and the cleaning liquid in the coating bag 12 enter the lower end inlet. It is pushed out through 12c. Reference numeral 892 in FIG. 10 denotes a waste liquid tank, and the washing liquid from the paint bag 12 is accommodated in the waste liquid tank 892.

As described above, the expansion of the paint bag 12 (expansion of the internal volume of the paint bag 12) and the crushing (reduction of the internal volume of the paint bag 12) are performed in a single or multiple times. Repeatedly, the inside of the paint bag 12 is cleaned. Finally, air is put into the paint bag 12 to discharge the cleaning liquid attached to the inside of the paint bag 12, thereby completing the cleaning step of the paint bag 12. FIG. At the stage at which the cleaning step of the paint bag 12 is completed, the paint bag 12 is in a pressed state (the internal volume of the paint bag 12 is a minimum state).

The paint cartridge 10 in which the cleaning of the paint bag 12 is completed is then filled with paint in the paint bag 12. It is a figure for demonstrating a paint filling process. The paint cartridge 10 after cleaning is positioned at a predetermined position of the paint filling station 92. This positioning is the same as that of the sprayer main body 6 and the bag washing station 88. When the paint cartridge 10 is positioned at a predetermined position, the paint cartridge 10 is fixed by the lock mechanism 94.

The paint filling station 92 includes a second check valve 32 for supplying the working liquid and a third check valve 34 for supplying the cleaning liquid among the first to fourth check valves of the paint cartridge 10. Actuators 920 and 922 with first and fourth push rods corresponding to the first and fourth check valves 30 and 36 are provided. The actuators 920 and 922 with the first and fourth push rods have substantially the same functions as the actuators 74 and 76 with the first and second push rods of the sprayer body 6 described above. Since it is an exercise | movement, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

The states of each open / close valve, that is, check valves 30 and 36, in the paint filling process are as follows.

(1) the first check valve 30 (paint) is forced open;

(2) The fourth check valve 36 (operating fluid discharge) is forced open.

The paint filling station 92 is provided with a gear pump 96 for filling the paint bag 12 with pressure from the paint source, and by controlling the gear pump 96, a predetermined amount of paint is applied to the paint bag. The paint bag 12 is filled through the lower end inlet 12c of the 12. Instead of the flow rate control of the gear pump 96, a flow meter for controlling the amount of paint supplied to the paint bag 12 under pressure from the pump, and the paint bag when the amount of paint measured by the flow meter reaches a predetermined value. You may employ | adopt the combination of the flow control valve which stops supply of the paint to (12). The paint bag 12 is expanded by filling the paint, but the working liquid filling the sealed space 14 is externally supplied through the air storage unit 14a and the fourth internal passage (working liquid discharge passage) 26. Is discharged to the working liquid source.

Of course, since the cleaning of the paint cartridge 10 is completed before filling the paint, the color of the paint filled in the paint cartridge 10 is arbitrary. The paint cartridge 10 in which the filling of the paint is completed is stored for the next painting.

As mentioned above, although the Example at the time of employ | adopting insulating thinner as a working fluid was demonstrated, when employ | adopting electroconductive liquid, such as water, as a working fluid, it is good to provide a voltage block mechanism in the robot arm 1.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a voltage block mechanism when water is used as the working liquid for flowing out of the paint cartridge 10 in a controlled state of the paint. With reference to FIG. 12, the robotic arm 1 is equipped with the hydraulic fluid supply unit 100 provided with the voltage block mechanism. The hydraulic fluid supply unit 100 provided with the voltage block mechanism is housed in the insulating case 102. A part of the above-mentioned working fluid supply passage 52 in the arm is located inside the insulating case 102, and a working fluid tank 104 (water tank) is provided in the working fluid supply passage 52 in the arm. have.

The gear pump 56 described above is disposed downstream of the working liquid tank 104. In the painting process, the gear pump 56 is operated to supply the water contained in the working liquid tank 104 to the paint cartridge 10. Thereby, the paint bag 12 of the paint cartridge 10 is pressed and crushed, and the paint of the paint bag 12 flows out, and this spilled paint is supplied to the sprayer main body 6.

A female connector 106 is provided at an upstream end of the arm fluid supply passage 52. The female connector 106 constitutes a part of the voltage block mechanism 108, and the male connector 110 paired with the female connector 106 is advanced by the air cylinder 112. In the state shown in FIG. 12, that is, the male connector 110 is separated from the female connector 106, the separation distance X between the male connector 110 and the female connector 106 forms an insulating space by air. Suitable distance (e.g. X = 250 to 300 mm) is set.

On the contrary, when the male connector 110 is coupled to the female connector 106, the hydraulic fluid tank (water tank) 104 communicates with the external hydraulic fluid source 114. When the hydraulic fluid tank (water tank) 104 becomes smaller than a predetermined amount, it is replenished from the hydraulic fluid source (water source) 114.

1 and 12, when the high voltage is applied to the electrostatic spraying machine 2 to perform painting, as shown in FIG. 12, the female connector 106 and the male connector 110 are spaced apart from each other. (High voltage block state). Thereby, the high voltage applied to the electrostatic spraying machine 2 can be prevented from leaking to the outside through the conductive working liquid (water).

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this, The following modified example is included.

(1) The first to fourth check valves 30 to 36 incorporated in the paint cartridge 10 may be constituted by an air-driven on / off valve.

(2) In the above embodiment, the paint bag 12 is provided with upper and lower inlets 12b and 12c. However, the paint bag 12 omits the upper end inlet 12b and is provided with only the lower end inlet 12c. (FIG. 13). Reference numeral 896 shown in Fig. 13 denotes a passage switching valve. In Fig. 13, the check valves 30 to 36 interposed in the paint cartridge passage leading to the paint bag 12 and the paint cartridge passage leading to the sealed space 14 (working liquid chamber) are not shown. .

(3) In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a method of directly pressurizing the paint bag 12 with the working fluid is employed, but as illustrated in FIG. 14, the working fluid bag 8 adjacent to the paint bag 12 is illustrated. ) May be a paint cartridge provided with). This hydraulic fluid bag 8 constitutes a hydraulic fluid chamber, and supplies hydraulic fluid to this hydraulic fluid bag 8 to expand the hydraulic fluid bag 8, thereby pressing and crushing the paint bag 12. The hydraulic fluid bag 8 has two upper and lower inlets 8a and 8b, and discharges the hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic fluid bag from the upper end inlet 8a, while the hydraulic fluid is discharged from the lower end inlet 8b. By supplying the hydraulic fluid bag 8, the hydraulic fluid bag 8 can be expanded (FIG. 14). As illustrated in FIG. 14, the paint bag 12 may be a bag having inlets 12b and 12c at the top and bottom thereof, and as shown in FIG. 15, the bottom inlet 12 without the top inlet 12b. A bag having only 12c) may be used.

(4) The excitation source 28 may be provided in the bag cleaning station 88, and the excitation source 28 may cause the paint cartridge 10 being cleaned to vibrate up and down and / or from side to side (Fig. 13). .

(5) A rotary table 894 is prepared in the bag cleaning station 88 (FIGS. 13 and 15), and the paint cartridge 10 is fixed to the rotary table 894 to clean the paint cartridge 10 being cleaned. You may make it rotate. In the figure, reference numeral O denotes a rotation center axis. Although this rotation may be one direction rotation, Preferably, it is good to repeat the rotation of a forward direction, and the rotation of an opposite direction alternately.

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was demonstrated by illustrating the paint cartridge 10 provided with the paint bag 12, the cleaning method of this invention is applicable also to a paint cartridge of a piston type or a membrane piston type. Referring to FIG. 16, the illustrated paint cartridge 130 has a piston 132, with the piston 132 interposed therebetween, and a working liquid chamber 134 is formed thereon, and below the piston 132. The paint accommodation chamber 136 is formed. FIG. 16I schematically shows the original state in which the piston type paint cartridge 130 is positioned in the washing station. This washing station corresponds to the bag washing station 88 (FIG. 10) mentioned above.

First, the working liquid is supplied to the working liquid chamber 134 of the paint cartridge 130 through the working liquid supply passage 22 in the cartridge, and the piston 132 is pushed down to the deepest portion of the paint containing chamber 136 to coat the paint. The paint remaining in the storage chamber 136 is recovered (step (II) in Fig. 16.) A cleaning liquid is then supplied to the paint accommodation chamber 136 to push up the piston 132 (step (III) in Fig. 16). With this, the working liquid in the working liquid chamber 134 is forcibly and manually discharged out of the cartridge through the working liquid discharge passage 26 in the cartridge, and the discharged working liquid is returned to the working liquid source. By supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber 134 through the working liquid supply passage 22 in the cartridge, the piston 132 is pushed down to discharge the cleaning liquid of the paint accommodation chamber 136 (Step (IV in Fig. 16). 16. The rise and fall of the piston 132 in the process (III) and the process (IV) of FIG. The figure may be arbitrary, for example, the piston 132 may be pushed up to the uppermost part, the raising of the piston 132 may be stopped up to the middle, and it may transfer to the next discharge process (process (IV) of FIG. 16). In order to wash the paint accommodation chamber 136 while pushing up the piston 132, you may supply the cleaning liquid and air to the paint storage chamber 136 alternately. The cleaning liquid may be pushed up to the height of H, and then the cleaning liquid may be supplied to the paint accommodation chamber 136. Thus, the combination of the supply form of air and the cleaning liquid is arbitrary, and may be determined by experiment.

Said process III and process IV may be set as 1 group, and you may repeat this once or multiple times. In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 13, the paint cartridge 130 may be subjected to vibration up and down or left and right or up and down and left and right during cleaning. In addition, as described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 15, the paint cartridge 130 may be rotated during cleaning. In addition, in FIG. 15, the check valve is interposed in the paint cartridge passage through the working liquid chamber 134 or the paint receiving chamber 136 of the paint cartridge 130 in the same way as the white paint cartridge 10 described above. 15, the illustration is abbreviate | omitted.

The present invention is applied to electrostatic painting. In particular, it is suitably applied to a painting robot.

1: arm of the painting robot
2: electrostatic sprayer
4: bell cup
6: sprayer body
10: paint cartridge
12: Paint bag (paint storage room)
12a: bag body of paint bag
12b: top entrance of the paint bag
12c: lower part entrance part of the paint bag
14: airtight space (working fluid chamber) of the paint cartridge
20: first internal passage (paint passage) of the paint cartridge
22: second internal passage (working fluid supply passage) of the paint cartridge
24: third internal passage (washing liquid supply passage) of the paint cartridge
26: fourth internal passage (working liquid discharge passage) of the paint cartridge
88: back washing station
130: piston type paint cartridge
132: Piston of the Cartridge
134: working liquid chamber of the cartridge
136: paint chamber of the cartridge

Claims (10)

It has a paint containing chamber which can fill paint, and a working liquid chamber which accommodates a working liquid, supplying the cleaning liquid to the said paint receiving chamber, and expanding the volume of the said paint receiving chamber to reduce the volume of the working liquid chamber to the working liquid chamber. Is a paint cartridge which can be rinsed by supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and then expanding the volume of the working liquid chamber to reduce the volume of the working chamber to discharge the cleaning liquid from the coating chamber. ,
A working liquid supply passage for supplying a working liquid to the working liquid chamber;
A working liquid discharge passage for discharging the working liquid from the working liquid chamber and also independent from the working liquid supply passage;
A first opening / closing valve interposed in the working fluid supply passage;
A paint cartridge having a second open / close valve interposed in the working fluid discharge passage. The method of claim 1,
The paint cartridge, wherein the working liquid discharge passage communicates with an upper end of the working liquid chamber. The method of claim 2,
The paint cartridge has a sealed space, and has a movable wall for partitioning the sealed space into the paint containing chamber and the working liquid chamber. The method of claim 3,
The paint cartridge, wherein the movable wall is constituted by a paint bag that is accommodated in the sealed space and forms the paint containing chamber. The method of claim 4, wherein
The paint cartridge, wherein the movable wall is constituted by a working liquid bag that forms the working liquid chamber. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The paint cartridge, wherein the first opening / closing valve is disposed at a position adjacent to a lower end surface of the paint cartridge. The method of claim 6,
The said 1st open / close valve is comprised from the 1st fixed valve seat, the 1st movable valve body which can be seated on a said 1st fixed valve seat, and the spring which presses the said 1st movable valve body toward the said fixed valve seat. Paint cartridges. It has a paint containing chamber which can fill paint, and a working liquid chamber which accommodates a working liquid, supplying the cleaning liquid to the said paint receiving chamber, and expanding the volume of the said paint receiving chamber to reduce the volume of the working liquid chamber to the working liquid chamber. Is a paint cartridge which can be rinsed by supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and then expanding the volume of the working liquid chamber to reduce the volume of the working chamber to discharge the cleaning liquid from the coating chamber. ,
A working liquid supply passage for supplying a working liquid to the sealed space;
A working liquid discharge passage for discharging the working liquid from the upper end of the sealed space and also independent of the working liquid supply passage;
A first opening / closing valve interposed in the working fluid supply passage;
It has a second opening and closing valve interposed in the working fluid discharge passage,
The first opening / closing valve is disposed at a position adjacent to the lower end surface of the paint cartridge, and the first opening / closing valve is configured to seat the first fixed valve seat of the paint cartridge and the first fixed valve seat. A paint cartridge, comprising: a first movable valve body and a spring for pressing the first movable valve body in a direction in which the first movable valve seat is seated on the first fixed valve seat. It has a paint containing chamber which can fill paint, and a working liquid chamber which accommodates a working liquid, supplying the cleaning liquid to the said paint receiving chamber, and expanding the volume of the said paint receiving chamber to reduce the volume of the working liquid chamber to the working liquid chamber. Is a paint cartridge which can be rinsed by supplying the working liquid to the working liquid chamber and then expanding the volume of the working liquid chamber to reduce the volume of the working chamber to discharge the cleaning liquid from the coating chamber. ,
The working fluid bag has a top opening and a bottom opening,
The paint cartridge,
A hydraulic fluid supply passage communicating with the opening of the lower end of the hydraulic fluid bag;
A hydraulic fluid discharge passage communicating with an upper end opening of the hydraulic fluid bag;
A first opening / closing valve interposed in the working fluid supply passage;
It has a second opening and closing valve interposed in the working fluid discharge passage,
The first opening / closing valve seats the first fixed valve seat of the paint cartridge, the first movable valve body which can be seated on the first fixed valve seat, and the first movable valve body on the first fixed valve seat. A paint cartridge, comprising: a spring pressurized in a direction. The paint cartridge according to any one of claims 7 to 9 is an electrostatic sprayer having a detachable sprayer body,
A push rod which is opened at an upper end surface of the sprayer body and is provided at a hydraulic fluid outlet portion of the hydraulic fluid supply passage in the sprayer body which is in communication with the hydraulic fluid supply passage of the paint cartridge; A push rod equipped with an actuator capable of pushing up the first movable valve body of the on-off valve;
Has a second fixed valve seat formed at said hydraulic fluid outlet portion of the hydraulic fluid supply passage in said sprayer body,
The push rod has a second valve body portion constituting an opening / closing valve in the sprayer body for opening and closing the working fluid supply passage in the sprayer body by seating on the second fixed valve seat at a portion thereof;
And when the push rod moves forward to push up the first movable valve body, the second valve body portion of the push rod is spaced apart from the second fixed valve seat to open and close the valve in the sprayer body. Electrostatic spraying machine.

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