WO2021124181A1

WO2021124181A1 - Painting booth with filter transport system

Info

Publication number: WO2021124181A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/062087
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paolo COLOMBAROLI; Roberto GORLA
Original assignee: Geico Spa
Priority date: 2019-12-20
Filing date: 2020-12-17
Publication date: 2021-06-24
Also published as: IT201900025045A1; AR120752A1

Abstract

A painting booth (10) comprises a painting chamber (11) inside which the paint is sprayed and which is provided with an air flow for evacuating the overspray, which is conveyed to at least one filtering unit (16) of the booth for filtering and separating the paint overspray from the air flow. The filtering unit (16) comprises a plurality of replaceable filter modules (17), each filter module (17) being removably contained inside its own housing (18) which comprises a front opening (18) which can be opened for extraction of the filter module from the housing. Each filter module (17) is suspended below a carriage (22) which slides on a pair of upper parallel rails (23) which are arranged between the interior of the housing (18) of the filter module and an area in front of the front opening (19) of the housing. The filter module is suspended from the carriage (22) by means of a detachable connection (30) so that it may be removed by means of a slight upward movement and a horizontal sliding movement so as to allow removal of the filter module (17) from the carriage when the carriage with the filter module is displaced along the rails into a position in the area in front of the front opening (19).

Description

Title

"Painting booth with filter transport system"

Description

The present invention relates to a painting booth provided with a system for changing the filters for eliminating the overspray.

Usually the painting booths are provided with an air flow which passes through the working zone so as to convey the overspray, namely the excess atomized paint, outside of the booth. The air drawn in with the overspray must be necessarily purified of the paint before it can be released into the environment or reintroduced into the booth and for this reason the air flow is made to pass through suitable filtering systems.

During the course of use the filters become clogged and must be regularly replaced. The operation may be complex and difficult for the operator involved and may involve interrupting operation of the booth for a relatively long period of time.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a booth with a filtering system having means for facilitating replacement of the overspray elimination filters.

In view of this object, the idea which has occurred is to provide, according to the invention, a painting booth comprising a painting chamber inside which the paint is sprayed and which is provided with an air flow for evacuation of the overspray, which is sent to at least one filtering unit of the booth for filtering and separating the paint overspray from the air flow, the filtering unit comprising a plurality of replaceable filter modules, each filter module being removably contained inside its own housing which comprises a front opening which can be opened in order to extract the filter module from the housing, the booth being characterized in that each filter module is suspended below a carriage which slides on a pair of upper parallel rails which are arranged between the interior of the housing of the filter module and an external area in front of the front opening of the housing, the filter module being suspended from the carriage by means of a detachable connection with a lifting movement and a horizontal sliding movement of the filter module in order to allow removal of the filter module from the carriage when the carriage with the filter module is in the area in front of the front opening.

In order to illustrate more clearly the innovative principles of the present invention and its advantages compared to the prior art, an example of embodiment applying these principles will be described below with the aid of the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

- Figure 1 shows a partially cross-sectioned, schematic, front elevation view of a booth according to the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a schematic, cross-sectioned, plan view of the booth, along the line II-II of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 shows a partial and enlarged, schematic, perspective view of an area of the booth according to Figure 1 during a first step of a filter-changing operation;

- Figure 4 shows a view similar to that of Figure 2 during a second step of the filter-changing operation;

- Figure 5 shows a partial schematic view of a possible bottom part of a filter module of the booth according to the invention;

- Figure 6 shows a partial and partially sectioned, schematic, side view of a bottom zone of a bottom zone of a filter module during the step of Figure 4;

- Figure 7 shows a partial and enlarged, schematic, perspective view of a possible embodiment of a carriage for suspension of a filter module of the booth according to the invention;

- Figures 8 and 9 show partial and enlarged, schematic, perspective views of variants of a filter module of the booth according to the invention;

- Figure 10 shows a schematic side view of a zone for engagement of a filter module with the carriage of Figure 7 during removal or engagement of the filter module.

With reference to the figures, Figure 1 shows, denoted generally by 10, a painting booth or station realized according to the invention, .

The booth comprises a chamber 11 for painting objects 12 (for example motor vehicle bodies). The objects to be sprayed are advantageously transported into the chamber 11 by means of a known sequential conveyor system 13.

The chamber 11 is provided with known paint-spraying devices (not shown) which spray, upon command, the paint onto the surfaces of the object to be painted. Advantageously, the paint-spraying devices may be realized in the form of known robotic arms provided with spraying guns.

The booth has a circulating air flow for evacuating the overspray from the chamber 11. For example, suitable air circulation fans (not shown) are advantageously provided according to a technique known per se for producing a continuous flow of air through the chamber. Advantageously, the floor of the chamber is formed as a grille so that the air with the overspray flows out through the floor. The ceiling of the chamber is therefore provided with corresponding air inlets 15 so as to have a continuous air flow which passes vertically through the chamber from the top downwards during the paint- spraying operations.

The air flow leaving the chamber 11 is sent to at least one filtering unit 16 which retains the overspray. The filtering unit comprises a plurality of replaceable filter modules 17, each accommodated inside its own housing 18 which forms the seat for the filter module 17 and which connects it between the inlet for the air from the chamber and 11 and an outlet for evacuating the air after filtering.

Each housing 18 comprises a front opening 19 which can be opened for extraction of the corresponding filter module 17 from the housing 18. For example, a suitable sealed door 28 with a manual opening system or other suitable closing system may be provided on the front opening 19. In Figures 3 and 4 the door is shown in broken lines and may be of any suitable type, for example hinged, sliding, double-leaf type, etc.

Advantageously, the housings 18 of a filter unit 16 are arranged side-by-side with the front openings 19 which face out on a same side.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the filtering units are advantageously two in number, being for example arranged facing each other in a mirror arrangement relative to a vertical mid-plane of the booth so as to have front openings 19 opposite each other. Advantageously this vertical mid-plane is parallel to the direction of movement of the transport system 13 which defines the direction of longitudinal extension of the booth.

In a booth where the air is evacuated through the floor 14, the filtering unit(s) 16 is/are preferably arranged directly underneath the floor 14.

As can be clearly seen in Figures 1 and 2, each housing 18 may have an inlet 25 which is situated opposite to the said front opening and is connected to the booth so that the air which arrives from the booth enters into the filter modules 17 through this inlet 25 and crosses them so as to be purified of the overspray. Movable inlet partitions 32 may also be provided for closing the inlet 25 when the filter module is extracted from the housing through the front opening of its housing. For greater clarity, in Figure 2 the rail sections 23 inside the housings occupied by the filter modules have been removed from the drawing.

The filter module 17 has advantageously a rear face 33 for entry of the air into the filters which is situated opposite to the front opening 19. This rear face 33 rests in a sealed manner against the corresponding inlet 25 of the housing when the filter module is in an operative filtering position inside its housing so that the air to be filtered passes directly through the filter module.

The inlets 25 of the housings preferably all face out inside the same passage 21 which is connected to the painting chamber via the grille floor of the painting chamber. Preferably, the filter module has the air outlet on its front face 34 which is situated on the same side as the front opening 19.

The air, after passing through the filter module exits the module (advantageously on the opposite side of the module) so as to pass into the front part of the housing 18 and be preferably evacuated through an outlet 24 in the bottom of the housing.

The outlet for the air from each housing 18 may be connected (preferably via one or more further filters 26, for example of the "pocket" type) to a duct 27 for evacuating the air from the booth. The duct 27 may definitively evacuate the air externally and/or convey it back into the chamber 11 for recycling of purified air.

The outlet 24 for the air downstream of the filter module in the housing may also be provided with movable outlet partitions 37 for closing the outlet 25 when the filter module is extracted from the housing through the front opening.

As can also be seen in Figures 3 and 4, each filter module 17 may be advantageously formed by a support frame 20 and by a plurality of filters 17a (some of which are schematically shown in broken lines) arranged alongside each other inside the support frame and with air inlet and outlet arranged to coincide with the air inlet and outlet of the filter module which form them.

The frame 20 may have upper and lateral walls which are closed and front and rear faces which are open. The box filters 17a may be for example arranged side-by-side in rows and columns. The filters 17a may be of various suitable types, for example also of the disposable cardboard type.

Each filter module 17 is suspended below a carriage 22 which slides on a pair of parallel upper rails 23 which are arranged between the interior of the housing 18 and an area in front of the front opening 19 of the housing. The rails may be of various types and the carriage will be designed accordingly. For example the two rails may be made with a rollerway along which the carriage slides (the carriage being provided for example with sliding shoes) or the carriage may have travel wheels and the rail may be made with a profiled form having a travel surface for such wheels, etc. An example of a carriage 22 is shown in Figure 7 with side surfaces 44 which travel along the rails 23 by means of rollwerways.

In this way, each filter module may be extracted in a linear manner from its housing through the front opening 19, by causing it to slide along the rails until it is brought into the area in front of the front opening, as schematically shown for a module in Figures 2 and 3. Advantageously, along the openings 18 of the filtering unit 16 there is an access floor (for example a gangway along the front openings) for replacement of the filters.

The filter module 17 is suspended from the carriage 22 by means of a detachable connection 30 so as to be able to be disengaged from the carriage or be engaged with the carriage by means of a vertical and horizontal combined movement, as will become clear below.

The disengaging movement may be performed using a variety of systems (for example lifting devices, transport trolleys, etc.). Flowever, in order to impart such a movement to the filter module 17, advantageously one or more transport means 38 which travel along the floor 29 are provided. The transport means 29 travel along the floor for the horizontal disengaging movement and for transporting the filter module from and into the areas in front of the front openings of the housings and are provided with a lifting system designed to impart the vertical movement necessary for engagement/disengagement, being inserted underneath the filter modules.

The transport means 38 may be advantageously of the wheeled type for travelling on the ground and of the type which are manually operated (for example manual pallet trucks) or with a motor (for example motorized pallet trucks). The motorized transport means may also be of the self-driving type such as AVG (Automated Guided Vehicles) with load lifting devices. Figures 3, 4 and 6 show by way of example a transport means 38 in the form a manual pallet truck, but the person skilled in the art will realize that the description which will be provided on the basis of these figures may be readily used also in the case of a different known type of transport means.

Advantageously, the bottom part of the filter module 17 may have a form which complements the upper lifting surface of the transport means so as to ensure a stable connection between filter module 17 and transport means and avoid the risks of overturning when the module is designed relatively high with respect to its base surface.

In an advantageous embodiment shown in the figures, the transport means 38 comprises preferably a pair of supporting longitudinal members 39 parallel to each other and extending parallel to the direction of approach of the transport means towards a filter module to be removed from the carriage 22. As can be clearly seen in Figure 5, the filer module 17 has in turn grooves 40 in its lower face which complement the longitudinal members 39 so as to slidably receive them in the direction of their length. For greater stability, the longitudinal members terminate with an end 41 shaped to fit into seats 42 located at the end the grooves 40. The seats 42 are therefore delimited underneath by small plates 43. The engaging position, with the transport means 38 in its position for engaging/disengaging and transporting the filter module 17, is shown schematically in Figure 6.

The disengaging movement, which involves first a lifting movement and then a vertical translation, has been found to be advantageous in order to avoid undesirable separation of the filter module from the carriage, while keeping the filter replacement operation simple, without the need for release control mechanisms. Various separation systems with two such movements may be easily imagined by the person skilled in the art on the basis of the present description.

Figures 7-10 show embodiments of the detachable connection 30 which have been found to be particularly advantageous.

Figure 7 shows a possible embodiment of the carriage 22 according to the invention. Advantageously, the carriage has a front plate 45 designed to close the space for its passage through the opening 19 when it is inside the housing 18 with the module in the operative position, namely connected to the circulating air flow.

The carriage supports a first part 30a of the detachable connection 30, while the filter module 17 has at the top a second part 30b of the detachable connection 30.

Advantageously, the first connection part 30a comprises a groove 46 formed in a horizontal support plate 47 and open on one side of the carriage. In particular, the groove 46 may be shaped generally in the form of a V in the direction of horizontal engaging/disengaging movement (namely transversely with respect to the direction of movement of the carriage along the rails 23). The V shape, which is wider at the mouth of the groove on the carriage side, allows the second part 30b to be guided so to engage completely inside the bottom of the groove.

Figure 8 shows a first possible embodiment of the second part 30b located above the filter module.

This second part 30b comprises a vertical pin 49 intended to be inserted inside the groove 46 and a horizontal bearing plate 48 supported on the top end of the pin and intended to rest on the support plate 47 when the pin is inside the groove.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 8 the plate 48 is advantageously circular so as to allow a rotation of the module about the vertical axis (usually coinciding with the axis of the pin 49) both in order to allow the filter module to adapt to the sealing contact with the air inlet when it is inserted inside its housing and in order to be able to manually adjust the orientation of the filter module, if necessary, when it is suspended outside of the housing.

If the floor 29 is sufficiently wide, the translation movement of the filter module may also be performed in a direction not parallel to the front openings 19. In this case it may be necessary to rotate the suspended module.

Usually, however it is required to have a free space around the filtering unit of a booth (for example, the floor 29 may have a relatively narrow gangway). In this case, owing to the principles of the present invention, the free space in front of the front openings 19 may be kept limited to that strictly needed for extraction or insertion of the filtering units and for transportation thereof in a direction substantially parallel to the extension of the front openings.

If the possibility of rotation is not required or if it is preferred that the filter module 17 should have a well-defined and fixed angular position, the engagement between the parts 30a and 30b of the connection 30 may also be performed so as to guide the module towards this angular position and keep it then fixed.

An example of this is shown in Figure 9, where the plate 48 is generally shaped in the form of a V rather than with a circular form as shown in Figure 8. In a complementary manner, guiding surfaces 50 for the side edges of the V-shaped plate 48 are provided on the sides of the groove. For example, the groove 46 on the carriage may be delimited, on the upper face of the plate 37 and laterally with respect to the insertion direction, by vertical walls 50 which converge in a V shape in the direction of insertion of the module into the carriage and in a manner which complements the V-shape of the plate 48. The plate 48 is thus guided between the walls 50 upon insertion of the module into the carriage. This is shown schematically for the module at the bottom on the right in Figure 2.

It should be noted that, when performing the engagement with the carriage as schematically shown in Figure 7, it is possible to accommodate within it both the variant shown in Figure 8 and the variant shown in Figure 9 of the filter module, depending on the specific requirements and needs. If necessary, the two types of filter module may also be mixed inside the booth 10, as shown by way of example in Figure 2.

During use, a slight vertical movement of the filter module upwards allows the two parts of the connection 30 to be separated and then removed by means of the horizontal movement. With the two parts as shown in the figures, the lifting movement allows the sliding friction between the first and second parts of the connection 30 to be eliminated (more specifically between the support plate 48 and the bearing plate 48). The following movement in the direction of the opening of the groove then extracts the pin 49 from the groove 46 and separates the module from the carriage. The opposite movement performs engagement of a module with the carriage.

A transport means 38 may thus convey a filter module away from the area in front of the front opening of the respective housing 18, by being simply inserted underneath the module with its lifting surface so as to lift the module slightly and then transport it outside of the station which comprises the painting booth. The opposite operation then allows a transport means 38 to bring up a new module until it engages with the empty carriage and is then inserted into the allocated housing.

In order to ensure that the engagement is suitably stable and correct, two projections 51 (for example in the form of teeth) may be provided in a suitable position on the support plate 47 on the sides of the groove 46, as shown schematically in Figures 7 and 10. As is clear, in particular from Figure 10, in order to remove the part 30b from the carriage, the bearing plate 48 must be lifted by a sufficient amount to overcome the height of the projections 51 on top of the support plate 47. This lifting movement is obviously provided by the lifting system present on the transport means 38. In this way, the projections 51 prevent the second connection part 30b from coming out of the first connection part 30a when the bearing plate 48 is resting on the support plate 30a.

At this point it is clear how the predefined objects have been achieved. The movement system according to the invention is simple, strong and low-cost.

With a booth according to the invention it is possible to replace the filter modules cyclically in an easy and rapid manner without even having to stop the plant. Since the air flow is divided up through the filter modules, closing of the circulating air inside a module for replacement of the filters which form it does not reduce excessively the air flow for the time period needed for the whole operation. Owing to the system for extraction, release and transportation of the filter modules the operator is able to perform the replacement operations more easily and with less effort. Moreover, the space around the booth may be keep small. Obviously, the above description of an embodiment applying the innovative principles of the present invention is provided by way of example of these innovative principles and must therefore not be regarded as limiting the scope of the rights claimed herein. For example, the number of housings and/or the number of filters may vary from that shown depending on the specific requirements, such as the air throughflow to be purified.

Claims

1. Painting booth (10) comprising a painting chamber (11) in which the paint is sprayed and which is provided with an air flow for evacuating the overspray, which is sent to at least one filtering unit (16) of the booth for filtering and separating the paint overspray from the air flow, the filtering unit (16) comprising a plurality of replaceable filter modules (17), each filter module (17) being removably contained in its own housing (18) which includes a front opening (19) which can be opened in order to extract the filter module from the housing, the booth being characterized in that each filter module (17) is suspended below a carriage (22) which slides on a pair of upper parallel rails (23) which are arranged between the interior of the housing (18) of the filter module and an external area in front of the front opening (19) of the housing, the filter module being suspended from the carriage (22) by means of a connection (30) which is detachable with a lifting movement and a horizontal sliding movement of the filter module (17) in order to allow the filter module (17) to be removed from the carriage when the carriage with the filter module is in the area in front of the front opening (19).

2. Booth according to Claim 1, characterized in that along the front openings (18) there is a floor (29) and one or more transport means (38) are provided so as to travel along the floor (29) and pass in the external areas in front of the front openings (19) of the housings, the transport means being intended to be inserted under a filter module suspended from the carriage in the external area in front of the front opening (19) and being suitable for producing said lifting movement and said horizontal sliding movement of the filter module (17) so as to remove it from the carriage.

3. Booth according to Claim 2, characterized in that the transport means are also suitable for carrying a new filter module (17) in one of the external areas in front of the front openings (19) so as to engage it with an empty carriage (22) present in said external area.

4. Booth according to Claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the transport means (38) preferably comprises a pair of supporting longitudinal members (39) parallel to each other and extending parallel to the direction of approach of the transport means towards a filter module to be removed from the carriage (22) and the filter module (17) in turn has grooves (40) in the lower face which complement the longitudinal members (39) so as to slidably receive them in the direction of their length.

5. Booth according to Claim 4, characterized in that the longitudinal members (39) terminate with an end (41) shaped to fit into seats (42) located at the end of the grooves (40).

6. Booth according to Claim 1, characterized in that the carriage supports a first part (30a) of the connection (30) and the filter module (17) has a second part (30b) of the connection (30) at the top, the first connection part (30a) comprises a groove (46) formed in a horizontal support plate (47) and open on one side of the carriage and the second connection part (30b) comprises a horizontal bearing plate (48) and a vertical pin (49) intended to be inserted in the groove (46) with the horizontal bearing plate (48) intended to rest on top of the horizontal support plate (47).

7. Booth according to Claim 6, characterized in that the groove (46) is generically shaped like a V with the widest part of the groove (46) which is open on one side of the carriage.

8. Booth according to Claim 6, characterized in that the bearing plate (48) is circular so as to allow a rotation of the filter module (17) about a vertical axis.

9. Booth according to Claim 6, characterized in that the bearing plate (48) is generically shaped like a V and on the sides of the groove there are surfaces (50) for guiding the side edges of the V-shaped bearing plate.

10. Booth according to Claim 6, characterized in that on the sides of the groove (46) there are projections (51) designed to prevent the second connection part (30b) from coming out of the first connection part (30a) when the bearing plate (48) is resting on the support plate (47).

11. Booth according to Claim 1, characterized in that each housing (18) has an inlet (25) which is opposite to said front opening (19), the air arriving from the painting chamber and directed towards the filter module (17) in the housing (18) entering through this inlet (25).

12. Booth according to Claim 3, characterized in that the filter module (17) has a rear face

(33) for entry of the air in the filter module (17) which is opposite to said front opening (19), said rear face (33) resting in a sealed manner against the corresponding inlet (25) of the housing when the filter module (17) is in an operative filtering position inside the housing (18).

13. Booth according to Claim 3, characterized in that there are movable inlet partitions (32) for closing the inlet (25) when the filter module (17) is extracted from the housing (18) through said front opening (19).

14. Booth according to Claim 1, characterized in that the filter module (17) has a front face

(34) for exit of the air from the filter module (17) which is situated on the same side as said front opening (19).

15. Booth according to Claim 1. characterized in that each housing (18) has an outlet (24) for the air downstream of the filter module (17) in the housing and movable outlet partitions (37) for closing the outlet (24) when the filter module (17) is extracted from the housing through said front opening.

16. Booth according to Claim 1, characterized in that the inlets (25) of the housings (18) all face out into the same passage (21) which is connected to the painting chamber via a grille floor of the painting chamber.

17. Booth according to Claim 1, characterized in that the filtering units (16) are two in number, being provided in a mirror-like arrangement under the floor of the painting chamber and/or the housings (18) of a filtering unit (16) are arranged side-by-side with the front openings (19) which face out into the same walkway (29) extending along the front openings.