Coating apparatus – Projection or spray type – Moving projector
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-03
2001-12-11
Crispino, Richard (Department: 1734)
Coating apparatus
Projection or spray type
Moving projector
C118S683000, C029S428000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328799
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coating apparatus and a method of assembling the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional robot for use in a coating apparatus, as illustrated in
FIG. 4
, generally includes a swivel base
40
, a first vertical arm
41
extending from the swivel base
40
, a second arm
42
extending from the first arm
41
in a horizontal direction, and a wrist portion
43
which is coupled to a tip of the second arm
42
and is capable of holding the coating gun. The swivel base
40
, the first arm
41
, the second arm
42
and the wrist portion
43
are movable and are driven by independent motors. Since the coating apparatus is operated in an explosion-proof area, each motor is disposed in a pressurized chamber provided in the robot. The pressurized chamber is filled with high pressure air, which prevents air mixed with a thinner from entering the pressurized chamber from the outside.
Further, as illustrated in
FIG. 4
, since the robot is used for coating, a coating device including a color change valve assembly
45
, a paint feed pump
46
, a trigger/dump valve
47
are mounted to an outside surface of the robot via a bracket
44
. A pressure-proof (explosion-proof) motor is used for driving the electrically-operated paint feed pump
46
.
However, the pressure-proof motor is relatively large in size for its motor capacity. As a result, the robot is necessarily large-sized, which may cause interference between the robot and a workpiece.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus which is not large-sized even though accommodated with an explosion-proof means and a method of assembling the same.
The above object can be achieved by the present invention, as follows.
A coating apparatus includes (a) a robot including a base, at least one movable portion, at least one motor for driving the movable portion, and at least one pressurized chamber in which the motor for driving the movable portion is disposed, and (b) a coating device including a coating gun, a paint feed pump, and a motor for driving the paint feed pump, the coating device being mounted to the robot. The motor for driving the paint feed pump is disposed in the pressurized chamber.
The at least one movable portion includes a swivel base mounted on the base, an arm portion provided with the pressurized chamber, and a wrist portion which is coupled to a tip of said arm portion and is capable of holding the coating gun. The coating gun is coupled to the wrist portion, the paint feed pump is mounted to the arm portion, and the motor for driving the paint feed pump is disposed in the pressurized chamber provided in the arm portion.
The arm portion includes a first arm extending from the swivel base mounted on the base and a second arm coupled to an upper end of the first arm, the second arm being provided with the pressurized chamber and having a tip to which the wrist portion is coupled. The motor for driving the paint feed pump is mounted to the second arm, and the motor for driving the paint feed pump and a motor for driving the wrist portion are disposed in the pressurized chamber provided in the second arm.
A method of assembling the coating apparatus includes a step of disposing the motor for driving the wrist portion and the motor for driving the paint feed pump within the pressurized chamber when said robot is assembled.
In the method, the coating device except the coating gun is mounted to the robot when said robot is assembled, and then the coating gun is coupled to the wrist portion to be assembled into the coating apparatus.
In the aforementioned coating apparatus and the assembly method, since the motor for driving the paint feed pump is disposed in the pressurized chamber provided in the robot, the motor is a pressurized motor which is explosion-proof. As a result, the motor is compact as compared with a conventional pressure-proof motor.
Further, in the aforementioned assembly method, since the motor for driving the paint feed pump, together with the motor for driving the wrist portion, is disposed in the pressurized chamber provided in the second arm of the robot at the time of assembling the robot, the motor for driving the paint feed pump is a pressurized motor like the motor for driving the wrist portion. As a result, assembling the coating apparatus can be performed effectively, as compared with a conventional method where the pressure-proof motor for driving a paint feed pump is mounted to an outside surface of a robot.
Furthermore, in the aforementioned assembly method, since the coating device except the coating gun is mounted to the robot at the same time during assembly, the coating apparatus except the coating gun can be assembled in a single step thereby improving productivity, as compared with a conventional method where a robot and a coating device are assembled separately.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4822647 (1989-04-01), Nozaki et al.
patent: 5096392 (1992-03-01), Griebel et al.
patent: 5949209 (1999-09-01), Okamoto et al.
patent: 60-54758 (1985-03-01), None
patent: 63-88070 (1988-04-01), None
patent: 5-92155 (1993-04-01), None
patent: 6-72652 (1994-10-01), None
patent: 8-108114 (1996-04-01), None
patent: 9-308848 (1997-12-01), None
patent: 10-94985 (1998-04-01), None
Inoue Masahiro
Ito Junji
Murate Masashi
Nakagawa Masaki
Sakakibara Masahito
Crispino Richard
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
T. Yewebdar T
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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