Paint-spraying apparatus for applying liquid coating material to workpieces

• US 6,849,129 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2003
• Issued: 02/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LacTec GmbH
• Original Assignee: LacTec GmbH
• Inventors: Bilz, Burkhard, Klein, Udo, Kunkel, Joachim, Ott, Winfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Fiorilla, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): TADESSE, YEWEBDAR T
• Application Number:
  US10/388,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20040020428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 118/620, 118/621, 118/627, 118/629, 118/688, 118/302, 239/690, 239/693, 239/112, 239/124, 239/691, 239/106, 239/116, 239/569
• US Class Current: 118/629
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/1481 comprising pigs, i.e. movable elements sealingly received in supply pipes, for separating different fluids, e.g. liquid coating materials from solvent or air cleaning pipes with pigs B08B9/0557, pigs per se F16L55/26
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 5/1608 the liquid or other fluent material being electrically conductive

Abstract

The paint-spraying apparatus exhibits a supply line 7 for coating material, extending from the color changer to the atomizer. Cut-off valves 26, 27 installed in the supply line delimit an insulating section 25 of said supply line, which insulating section is associated with means 28 to 32 for emptying and flushing said insulating section 25. A voltage divider 16 is connected in parallel to said insulating section 25. When colors are changed, the residual coating material present in said voltage divider 16 can be moved into the empty insulating section 25, after which it is forced by means of slugs back through the entire supply line 7 to the color changer 1, and is thus reclaimed.

Claims

1. A paint-spraying apparatus for the application of liquid coating material to workpieces and comprising an automatically actuatable color changer (1), an atomizer (8) which can be connected to high voltage, a supply line (7) of electrically insulating material extending between said color changer (1) and said atomizer (8), through which supply line (7) a slug (11) can be moved back and forth, and having a voltage divider (16) connected to said supply line (7) to effect electrostatic insulation of said color changer (1) from the atomizer (8) and from at least one storage vessel (19, 20) provided for storage of the coating material and attached to said supply line (7), characterized in that

said supply pipe (7) has an insulating section (25) delimited by cut-off valves (26, 27) and having a length sufficient to prevent sparkover, which section (25) of the supply pipe (7) can, when said cut-off valves (26, 27) are closed, be emptied and flushed free of residues of coating material by means of a device (28-32),

said voltage divider (16) is connected to the supply line parallel to the insulating section (25),

and the coating material present in said paint delivery pipe (7) outside said insulating section (25) can be forced back into said color changer (1) by said slug (11), to which end said slug can pass through the two cut-off valves (26, 27) delimiting said insulating section (25), when said valves (26, 27) are open.

2. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that, when changing colors, the residual coating material present in said voltage divider (16) can be moved into an empty insulating section (25) of said supply line (7).

3. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 2, characterized in that said voltage divider (16) has, at its atomizer-near end, a metering device (21) for the coating material, by means of which the residual coating material can be transported into said insulating pipe section (25).

4. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 3, characterized in that said metering device (21) is a gear-type pump.

5. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that said cut-off valves (26, 27) delimiting said insulating pipe section (25) are ball valves whose passage diameter is equal to the internal diameter of the paint supply line (7).

6. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that said insulating pipe section (25) of said supply line (7) is adjoined, in the immediate vicinity of said cut-off valves (26, 27), by a discharge valve (32) and release valve (29), respectively, with no intermediate dead space.

7. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 6, characterized in that there are connected to said release valve (29) a flushing line containing a flushing valve (30) and an air purging line containing an air purging valve (31).

8. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that two connecting pipes (40, 41) for connecting said voltage divider (16) to said supply line (7) are provided, in the immediate vicinity of said supply line (7), with cut-off valves (22, 23) and, without intermediate dead space, a discharge valve (24) and a release valve (37) respectively.

9. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 8, characterized in that said release valve (37) is connected to a flushing line containing a flushing valve (38) and an air purging line containing an air purging valve (39).

10. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that to the ends of said supply line (7) beyond a first slug parking station (9) and a second slug parking station (10), respectively, there are connected a discharge valve (36) and a release valve (13).

11. A paint-spraying apparatus as defined in claim 10, characterized in that said release valve (13) is connected to a flushing line containing a flushing valve (33) and an air purging line containing an air purging valve (34).