Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Filling or refilling of dispensers – Coating-implement-type receiver
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-04
2003-09-02
Jacyna, J. Casimer (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Filling or refilling of dispensers
Coating-implement-type receiver
C141S002000, C141S009000, C141S025000, C141S018000, C141S100000, C141S285000, C141S346000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06612345
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for replenishing paint into a cartridge, suitable for use, for example, in replenishing paint cartridges of different colors which are adapted to be replaceably mounted on a coating system in the course of a coating operation.
BACKGROUND ART
Generally, rotary atomizing head type coating systems are widely resorted to in coating vehicle bodies or the like. In this regard, recently, coating systems of this sort are required to meet demands for reductions of the amounts of paint and solvent which have be discarded at the time of color changes and for capability of handling a larger number of colors.
A rotary atomizing head type coating system, which is arranged to reduce the amounts of discarding paint and solvent and to cope with an increased number of paint colors, has been known, for example, from Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H8-229446. The rotary atomizing head type coating system which is described in this Laid-Open Patent Publication employs paint cartridges which are filled with various paint colors and arranged to be replaceably mounted on the system in the course of a coating operation on vehicle body.
The just-mentioned prior art rotary atomizing head type coating system is constituted by a housing having a coating machine mount portion on the front side and a cartridge mount portion on the rear side thereof, and a coating machine being mounted on the coating machine mount portion of the housing and including an air motor with a rotational shaft and a rotary atomizing head located on the front side of the air motor and mounted on the rotational shaft of the air motor. Further, formed axially through the rotational shaft of the air motor on the coating machine is a feed tube passage hole which is opened at its fore end into the rotary atomizing head and at its rear end into the cartridge mount portion of the housing.
Further, the coating system is provided with a number of paint cartridges of different colors to be replaceably mounted on the cartridge mount portion of the housing. Each one of the paint cartridges is constituted by a container which is filled with paint, and a feed tube which is extended axially forward from a front end of the container. The container portion of the paint cartridge is adapted to be removably fitted in the cartridge mount portion of the housing, and the feed tube is inserted into the above-mentioned feed tube passage hole.
Further, by a movable partition wall, the container of each paint cartridge is divided into a paint chamber which is in communication with the above-mentioned feed tube, and an paint-extruding air chamber which is in communication with an extruding air supply passage which is provided on the side of the cartridge to supply extruding air to the paint-extruding air chamber. Furthermore, provided on the side of the housing are an extruding air passage to be brought into communication with the extruding air passage on the side of the cartridge. Therefore, as extruding air is supplied to the air chamber within the cartridge container through the extruding air passage on the side of the housing and the extruding air passage on the side of the paint cartridge, the movable partition wall is displaced in a forward direction, thereby pushing the paint in the paint chamber into the rotary atomizing head through the feed tube.
In the case of the rotary atomizing head type coating system which is arranged as described above, firstly a paint cartridge of a specific color is selected from a number of paint cartridges of various colors and mounted on the cartridge mount portion of the housing. Nextly, a certain amount of air is supplied to the extruding air chamber of the paint cartridge to spurt paint in the paint chamber of the cartridge toward the rotary atomizing head through the feed tube. As a result, the paint is sprayed toward an object to be coated from the rotary atomizing head.
At the time of changing the paint color, the paint cartridge on the coating machine is simply replaced by a fresh one. Namely, the paint color can be changed without wastefully discarding paint and solvent.
On the other hand, upon finishing a coating operation, the paint cartridge, which has been consumed by the coating operation, needs to be replenished after unloading same from the housing.
Therefore, a paint replenisher is used for refilling paint into the paint cartridge in the manner as follows. According to the above-mentioned prior art, a paint cartridge replenisher is constituted by a number of quick joints which are extended from paint circulating pipe systems which are allotted to the respective paint colors. When replenishing paint into the paint chamber of a cartridge by the use of this paint replenisher, a consumed paint cartridge is removed from the housing and returned to a stand. In the next place, a quick joint is connected to a paint refilling port which is provided on the cartridge separately from the above-mentioned feed tube, and paint is replenished into the paint cartridge.
That is to say, in the case of the paint cartridge replenisher according to the above-mentioned prior art, for the purpose of paint replenishment, a paint refilling port is provided on the side of the paint cartridge separately from the feed tube. This makes the construction of the paint cartridge more complicate and invites increases in production cost. In addition, there arises a problem that the paint cartridge has an increased number of points of possible paint leaks.
Further, as mentioned above, at the time of paint replenishment, a quick joint which is extended out from a paint circulating piping system is connected to the paint refilling port on the paint cartridge. Namely, due to the manual efforts which are required for connecting a quick joint to a paint refilling port on the side of a paint cartridge, the replenishment of paint cartridges has been objectionably time-consuming.
Furthermore, until next use, each used paint cartridge is put in a predetermined position at a waiting station, with the paint chamber of the cartridge container either in a replenished state or in a consumed state containing a certain amount of residual paint. Therefore, if the paint cartridge is left in the waiting state continuously, separation and sedimentation could occur to the pigment components of the paint in the cartridge. Especially in the case of pigments such as fragments of aluminum and mica, separation and sedimentation could occur within a short period of time.
As a consequence, non-uniform dispersal of pigments occur to the paint in the paint chamber of the cartridge, which may result in irregular color shadings as well as in degradations in quality of coated surfaces. In addition, separated sedimentary pigments may cause clogging and dysfunction of the feed tube or other paint passages.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above-discussed problems with the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for replenishing paint into a paint cartridge, which can make paint cartridge construction simpler and permit to replenish paint cartridges in a facilitated manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for replenishing paint into a paint cartridge, which can prevent separation and sedimentation of pigments in paint to guarantee improved quality of coatings.
According to the present invention, for achieving the above-mentioned objectives, there is provided a method for replenishing paint into a paint cartridge which is divided into a paint chamber and an extruding liquid chamber by a movable partition wall, the method comprising the step of: putting paint in the paint chamber of the cartridge in respiratory circulation to and from a paint supply source by imparting repeated respiratory paint suck-in and push-out motions to the movable partition wall in case the paint cartridge is going to be retained in a waiting state for a long period of time until a next coating operation.
With the arra
Hosoda Toshio
Mori Takanobu
Takeda Tomoaki
Tani Shinji
Toda Kimio
ABB K.K.
Jacyna J. Casimer
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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