ELECTROSTATIC COATING DEVICE AND ELECTROSTATIC COATING METHOD

• US 20150190822A1
• Filed: 10/22/2013
• Published: 07/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamasaki, Isamu, Kobayashi, Shunya, Murakami, Misa, Mitani, Hiroya, Ohta, Hirokazu, Honma, Kengo
• Granted Patent: US 10,058,880 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/1463 separate containers for different materials to be sprayed being moved from a first location, e.g. a filling station, where they are fluidically disconnected from the spraying apparatus, to a second location, generally close to the spraying apparatus, where they are fluidically connected to the latter B05B12/1454 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 5/025 Discharge apparatus, e.g. electrostatic spray guns
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 5/1625 the insulating means comprising an intermediate container alternately connected to the grounded material source for filling, and then disconnected and electrically insulated therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 1/007 using an electrostatic field B05D1/02 - B05D1/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 1/02 performed by spraying
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 1/04 involving the use of an electrostatic field B05D1/025 and B05D1/14 take precedence

Abstract

An electrostatic coating device and an electrostatic coating method each achieve a reduction in working hours and efficient coating at the time when layers are coated with colors. The electrostatic coating device includes a coating material cartridge that includes coating-material containers, a valve that makes a change of colors of coating materials, a common path through which coating materials are able to pass according to the change, and a cleaning circuit that cleans up the common path. The coating material cartridge is configured to be removable from a coating machine. The coating material cartridge may include individual paths respectively connected to the coating-material containers and each of which one of the coating materials passes through, and valves each connected to the common path and respectively connected to the individual paths. Each of the valves may open and close a conduit line between the common path and a corresponding coating-material container.

Claims

1. An electrostatic coating device comprising:

a coating material cartridge that includes

a plurality of coating-material containers,

a valve that makes a change of colors of coating materials,

a common path through which a plurality of coating materials is able to pass according to the change, and

a cleaning circuit that cleans up the common path, wherein

the coating material cartridge is configured to be removable from a coating machine.

2. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 1, wherein

volumes of the coating-material containers are changeable according to respective amounts of the coating materials to be charged into the coating-material containers.

3. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 1, wherein

the coating material cartridge further includes individual paths which are respectively connected to the coating-material containers and each of which one of the coating materials passes through,

the valve is constituted by a plurality of valves, the valves being each connected to the common path and being respectively connected to the individual paths,

each of the valves is connected to a corresponding one of the coating-material containers, and

the each of the valves opens and closes a conduit line between the common path and the corresponding one of the coating-material containers.

4. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 1, wherein

the coating material cartridge includes a check valve that connects the cleaning circuit to the common path and prevents inflow of fluid from the common path to the cleaning circuit.

5. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 1, wherein

the coating material cartridge further includes a capsule and a pressing fluid path,

the coating-material containers are coating material bags,

the capsule contains the coating material bag, and

the pressing fluid path is connected to inner spaces, each of the inner spaces being provided inside the capsule and outside the coating material bags.

6. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 5, wherein

the pressing fluid path is constituted by a plurality of pressing fluid paths, and

each of the pressing fluid paths is connected to a corresponding one of the inner spaces.

7. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 5, wherein

the capsule contains:

the coating material bags; and

a partition member placed between the coating material bags adjacent to each other.

8. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 7, wherein

the coating material bags partitioned by the partition member have different maximum volumes.

9. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 7, wherein

the partition member divides a space in the capsule into a plurality of regions having different volumes.

10. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 9, wherein

the partition member partially partitions the space in the capsule, and

a pressing fluid is movable between the plurality of regions.

11. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 1, further comprising a charging device removable from the coating material cartridge, wherein

the charging device includes a main path connectable to the common path,

the main path is connected to a color change valve,

the color change valve is connected to a plurality of flow meters, and

the plurality of flow meters is connected to respective tanks having different coating materials.

12. The electrostatic coating device according to claim 6, further comprising a charging device removable from the coating material cartridge, wherein

the charging device includes a pressing fluid flow path connected to a pressing fluid path for discharge of the pressing fluid, and

the pressing fluid flow path includes a flow meter or is connected to a flow meter.

13. An electrostatic coating method comprising:

respectively retaining coating materials in coating-material containers in a coating material cartridge, and changing the coating materials by a valve at the time of sending of each of the coating materials;

sending each of the coating materials from the coating material cartridge to a coating machine via a common path in an electrostatic coating device according to the change; and

performing multilayer coating by the electrostatic coating device.

14. The electrostatic coating method according to claim 13, wherein

the multilayer coating is performed by applying one of the retained coating materials and then applying another one of the retained coating materials.

15. The electrostatic coating method according to claim 14, further comprising

charging coating materials having different colors or compositions into two or more coating-material containers at different amounts.

16. The electrostatic coating method according to claim 15, further comprising:

providing, in the coating material cartridge,

coating material bags corresponding to the coating-material containers and having different maximum volumes,

a capsule containing the coating material bags and a partition member provided between the coating material bags,

a pressing fluid, and

a pressing fluid path connected to an inner space provided inside the capsule and outside the coating material bag;

dividing a space in the capsule by the partition member into a plurality of spaces having different volumes so as to determine a charging amount of each of the coating materials with respect to a corresponding one of the coating material bags in advance;

filling the inner space with the pressing fluid; and

sending each of the coating materials from the coating material cartridge to the coating machine by pressing each of the coating material bags with the pressing fluid.

17. The electrostatic coating method according to claim 15, further comprising:

providing, in a charging device connected to the coating material cartridge, a main path connected to the common path and a color change valve;

sending each of the coating materials to the common path via the color change valve and the main path; and

controlling a charging amount of the each of the coating materials with respect to a corresponding one of the coating material bags is controlled to a value determined in advance by measuring a flow rate of each of the coating materials of different colors to flow into the color change valve.

18. The electrostatic coating method according to claim 15, further comprising:

providing, in the coating material cartridge,

coating material bags corresponding to the coating-material containers,

a capsule containing the coating material bags, and

a pressing fluid path for discharge connected to an inner space inside the capsule and outside the coating material bag;

providing, in a charging device connected to the coating material cartridge, a pressing fluid flow path connected to the pressing fluid path for discharge;

filling the inner space with a pressing fluid;

controlling a charging amount of each of the coating materials with respect to a corresponding one of the coating material bags to a value determined in advance by measuring a flow rate, in the pressing fluid flow path, of the pressing fluid discharged outside in a course of charging the each of the coating materials into the corresponding one of the coating material bags; and

sending each of the coating materials outside the coating material cartridge by pressing each of the coating material bags with the pressing fluid.