Automatic painting method and device therefor

• US 6,458,424 B1
• Filed: 08/17/2000
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB K.K. (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Osamu, Matsuda, Hidetsugu, Hosoda, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Bareford, Katherine A.
• Application Number:
  US09/601,344
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 427/421, 118/302, 118/323, 118/688
• US Class Current: 427/426
• 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

Abstract

When replacing a paint cartridge (25) on the coating apparatus (11), a replenished paint cartridge of a next paint color is picked up from one of paint replenisher units (55a to 55n) by one gripper member (101) of a cartridge gripper (100). In the next place, while the replenished paint cartridge (25) is being continuously gripped on one gripper member (101), a consumed or empty paint cartridge (25) is gripped and removed from the housing (12) by the other gripper member (102). Then, the replenished paint cartridge on one gripper member (101) is loaded on the housing (12), and the empty paint cartridge (25) is returned to a corresponding one of the paint replenisher units (55a to 55n). Thus, the paint cartridges (25) can be replaced in a significantly simplified manner.

Claims

1. An automatic coating method using a working mechanism located in a coating area, a coating apparatus mounted on said working mechanism and adapted to be replaceably loaded with paint cartridges of various colors, and a cartridge changer including a paint replenishing means for replenishing paint into said paint cartridges and a cartridge gripper means having a couple of gripper members for gripping paint cartridges separately thereon and adapted to hand over paint cartridges to and from said coating apparatus along three perpendicular axes to replace an empty paint cartridge on said coating apparatus by a replenished paint cartridge, characterized in that said method comprises:

a coating step of coating an object by spraying paint onto the object using said coating apparatus loaded with a replenished paint cartridge and moved by said working mechanism;

a replenished paint cartridge pick up step of picking up said replenished paint cartridge of a color to be used in a next coating operation from a paint replenisher means by the use of one of said gripper members of said cartridge gripper means;

an empty paint cartridge unloading step of unloading said empty paint cartridge from said coating apparatus by the use of the other one of the gripper members of said cartridge gripper means, while said cartridge gripper means has said replenished paint cartridge still gripped in said one gripper member;

a replenished paint cartridge loading step of loading said replenished paint cartridge on said coating apparatus by said one gripper member of said cartridge gripper means, with said cartridge gripper means having said empty paint cartridge still gripped on said other gripper member; and

an unloading empty paint cartridge returning step of returning said unloaded empty paint cartridge to said paint replenishing means.

2. An automatic coating method using a working mechanism, a coating apparatus mounted on the working mechanism and adapted to be replaceably loaded with paint cartridges of various colors, and a cartridge changer including a paint replenisher, cartridge gripper members, and a cartridge transfer system configured to move the gripper member along three perpendicular axes, said method comprises the steps of:

coating an object by spraying paint onto the object using the coating apparatus loaded with a first paint cartridge and moved by the working mechanism;

picking up a second paint cartridge from a paint replenisher using one of the gripper members;

unloading the first paint cartridge from the coating apparatus using the other one of the gripper members, wherein the second paint cartridge is still gripped in the one gripper member;

loading the second paint cartridge on the coating apparatus using the one gripper member, wherein the first paint cartridge is still gripped on the other gripper member; and

returning the first paint cartridge to the paint replenisher.