Sprayer support, spraying device including the support, and method for manufacturing the support

Abstract

This invention discloses a sprayer support, a spraying apparatus including the support, and a method for manufacturing the support. The sprayer support (2) includes: a housing (8) for a high-voltage unit or plug; a guide member (12) for at least one coating product hose (11); a retaining member (16) for an air hose (13); a first fastening member (5) for fastening to a robot (3); and a second fastening member (6) for fastening to a sprayer (4). According to the invention, the housing (8), guide member (12), retaining member (16), first fastening member (5), and second fastening member (6) are formed from a single component.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sprayer support, a spraying apparatus including such a support, and a method for manufacturing such a support. [Background Technology]

[0002] It is known that a support is used within a spraying system to secure the sprayer to a robot. This support is typically formed from a group of machined components. Each of these components has a different function. The support must enable the connection between the sprayer and the robot. Additionally, it must guide fluid hoses, guide and secure air hoses, and support high-pressure units.

[0003] The manufacturing and assembly of different components requires considerable costs and a relatively long and complex assembly process.

[0004] The present invention aims to remedy this drawback by providing an inexpensive and easy-to-assemble sprayer support. [Summary of the invention]

[0005] Therefore, the present invention relates to a sprayer support comprising: a housing for a high-voltage unit or high-voltage plug; a guide member for at least one coating product hose; a retaining member for an air hose; a first fastening member for fastening to a robot; and a second fastening member for fastening to a sprayer. According to the invention, the housing, guide member, retaining member, first fastening member, and second fastening member are formed from a single component.

[0006] As a result of this invention, manufacturing the support component from a single part reduces manufacturing costs and facilitates the assembly of the component with robots and sprayers.

[0007] According to the advantageous but non-mandatory features of the invention, such a support may include one or more of the following features, which may be employed in any technically possible combination:

[0008] - The support components are manufactured using additive manufacturing methods.

[0009] - The support is made of synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone or polyethylene terephthalate.

[0010] The support also includes a housing for the low-voltage unit, which is also formed of the same components as the rest of the support.

[0011] - The first fastening member, the retaining member, and the second fastening member are aligned along the axis of the support in the order described.

[0012] - The housing used for high-voltage units or plugs is a cylinder aligned with the axis of the support.

[0013] - The housing for the high-voltage unit or plug is located between the first fastening member and the second fastening member. The guide member is centered on the axis of the support member and has an inner radius that is greater than the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit or plug. Preferably, the difference between the inner radius of the guide member and the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm, and preferably on the order of 0.5 mm.

[0014] - The support includes markings for identifying the air hose.

[0015] According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to a spraying apparatus comprising a sprayer, a robot, and a sprayer support, the sprayer being connected to the robot via the sprayer support. According to the present invention, the sprayer support is as described above.

[0016] This device produces the same advantages as those described regarding the support.

[0017] According to an advantageous but non-mandatory feature of the invention, such a device may include an air hose held in place by a retaining member and at least one coated product hose guided by a guiding member.

[0018] According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the support member as described above, characterized in that the method is a multi-jet melting additive manufacturing method. [Attached Image Description]

[0019] The invention will be better understood and its other advantages will become clearer after reading the following description of an embodiment of a sprayer support and spraying apparatus conforming to the principles of the invention, which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a bottom perspective view of a spraying apparatus according to the present invention, which includes a sprayer support member also according to the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Rear view of the support component;

[0022] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 and Figure 2 A top view of the support member; and

[0023] Figure 4 It is based on Figure 1 The cross section of plane IV. [Specific implementation method]

[0024] Figure 1The painting apparatus 1 is partially depicted. The apparatus 1 includes a support 2, a robot 3 (e.g., a reciprocating robot), and a sprayer 4 equipped with at least one nozzle 42 for spraying the painting fluid. For clarity, only a portion of the robot 3, specifically the end of a manipulator arm, is shown. The robot 3 and the sprayer 4 are... Figure 1 It is drawn as transparent and dashed lines, and is not shown in other figures.

[0025] Support 2 defines a longitudinal axis X, on which robot 3 and sprayer 4 are aligned.

[0026] The support member 2 includes a fastening member 5 at its distal end for securing to the robot 3. For example... Figure 2 More clearly, the fastening member 5 is horseshoe-shaped, centered on the axis X, and includes a drilled hole 52 designed to receive a screw 32 for fastening to the robot 3, the X-axis being plotted as... Figure 1 The axis is indicated by a dashed line. In the example in the attached figure, the fastening member 5 includes six drilled holes 52. The fastening member 5 also includes a resting surface 54 designed to position the support member 2 onto the robot 3.

[0027] At its proximal end, opposite the distal end, the support 2 includes a fastening member 6 for securing to the sprayer 4. The fastening member 6 includes four legs 62, each having an aperture 64 for allowing the sprayer 4 to be fastened to the support 2 by screws. The legs 62 are connected by a bridge 68 to a ring 66 centered on axis X, the legs 62 being regularly distributed around the circle centered on axis X and having a diameter larger than that of the ring 66. Furthermore, two legs 62 pointing towards the bottom of the support 2 are connected by an arc 69, the arc functioning to precisely position a template (not shown in the figures). The template belongs to the device 1 and holds fittings designed to guide fluid and air to the sprayer 4.

[0028] The components 5 and 6 of the support member 2 are connected by a frame 7 forming the base of the support member 2. The frame 7 includes four vertical plates 72, each extending from a leg 62 and reaching the fastening member 5. The vertical plates 72 are substantially straight and parallel to the axis X.

[0029] Thus, due to components 5, 6 and 7, support 2 allows for the connection between robot 3 and sprayer 4.

[0030] Ring 66 extends along axis X in the direction of fastening member 5 through housing 8, which houses the high-pressure unit (not shown). Housing 8 is a hollow cylinder, in this example a cylinder with a circular base, one end formed by ring 66, and the other end 82 lying in the plane of resting surface 54. Housing 8... Figure 3 This is even more evident in the middle.

[0031] like Figure 1 As can be seen, a housing 10 is provided for the low-voltage unit (not shown). This housing 10 is secured below the housing 8 and includes a space 102 orthogonal to the axis X and an extension 104 parallel to the axis X. The space 102 and the extension 104 form a single volume for accommodating the low-voltage unit in a radial direction with respect to the axis X; this volume is T-shaped when viewed from below. At the end of the extension 104, a hole 106 allows a cable to pass through to connect the low-voltage unit to the high-voltage unit.

[0032] During operation, the high-voltage unit is housed within housing 8. This high-voltage unit is supplied with a low-voltage current provided by the low-voltage unit. The high-voltage unit typically consists of diodes that allow the voltage of the current supplied by the low-voltage unit to be increased. The low-voltage unit also serves to ground the assembly formed by the high-voltage and low-voltage units. For connecting the high-voltage and low-voltage units, the high-voltage unit is typically equipped with a female connector compatible with the male connector of the low-voltage unit. This arrangement, formed by the low-voltage and high-voltage units, allows a high-voltage current to be supplied to the sprayer 4 during the application of electrostatic coating products, thereby charging the paint particles to be sprayed from nozzle 42.

[0033] The coating product applied by means of a sprayer consists of two hoses 11— Figure 1 The axis is drawn in dashed lines—guided into the sprayer 4, the hose is guided by guide member 12. For example, the fluid can be a coating product such as paint. Guide member 12 is described as a cylindrical portion centered on axis X and partially surrounding housing 8. Guide member 12 opens at the bottom of support member 2. In practice, guide member 12 opens at an angle between 20° and 90° around axis X. Preferably, this angle is 65°. Guide member 12 includes recesses 122 configured to hold hose 11, these recesses preferably arranged in an alternating manner on guide member 12. In this case, "alternating" means that two hoses are placed alternately in the recesses 122 along the length of guide member. In the example in the figure, guide member 12 includes six recesses 122. The hose 11 is guided through the recesses 122 so that the hoses are electrically isolated from each other so that they do not come into contact. Such contact could locally generate an electric arc due to the potential difference between the two fluids contained in the two hoses, each having its own resistivity.

[0034] Because the product contained in hose 11 is brought to a high voltage near the head of sprayer 4 and grounded near robot 3, hose 11 must be long enough to prevent any creep discharge. The winding of hose 11 around guide member 12 allows for an increase in hose 11 length while limiting the overall form factor of support member 2. The length of hose 11 depends on the resistivity of the fluid carried by these hoses 11 and the desired voltage. For example, for a fluid with a resistivity of 3 Mohm-cm and a voltage of 100 kV, hose 11 must be 850 mm. If the voltage is equal, the greater the resistivity of the fluid used, the shorter the required length of hose 11.

[0035] Furthermore, the winding of the hose 11 around the guide member 12 prevents metal fragments contained in certain fluids from pointing in the direction of the electric field generated by the high-voltage unit. This avoids the inherent short circuit of the generating fluid.

[0036] In practice, to ensure sufficient length of the hose 11 and to optimize the shape factor of the support 2, the guide member 12 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the housing 8. In practice, the distance d1 separating the housing 8 and the guide member 12 is equal to the difference between the inner diameter R12 of the guide member 12 and the outer diameter R8 of the housing 8. The distance d1 is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm. Preferably, this distance d1 is 0.5 mm. Thus, a space 14 with a radial thickness d1 is formed between the guide member 12 and the housing 8. This space 14 is used to extend the air hose 13 of the robot 3 to the sprayer 4. Figure 1 Those air hoses 13, drawn as dashed lines along the axis, are used to supply air to form a jet of coating product from the nozzle 42 of the sprayer 4, to supply air to the air valve of the sprayer 4, and potentially to supply and / or slow down the turbine of the sprayer 4.

[0037] To hold the air hoses 13 in place, a retaining member 16 is arranged on the exterior of the housing 8, between the fastening member 5 and the guide member 12. The retaining member 16 describes a portion of a circle surrounding the housing 8. This portion of the circle is defined by the housing 10 and includes housings 162 for the individual air hoses 13. In the example of the figures, the guide member includes fifteen housings 162 distributed around axis X to accommodate fifteen air hoses, only some of which are located in… Figures 1 to 3 As can be seen in the text.

[0038] In practice, the number of housings 162 need not be equal to fifteen. For example, the retaining member 16 may include up to twenty-five housings 162, or conversely, fewer than ten such housings. To identify the air hoses 13, identification marks 18 are etched on the exterior of the fastening member 5. Thus, the hoses 13 are all fastened within the housings 162 and then extend along the housing 8, making them easily identifiable. Therefore, they are parallel to the axis X, and each air hose passes through the fastening member 5 below an identification mark 18. The shape of the guide member 16 allows for quick fastening of the air hoses by engaging them with the guide member 16 before they are connected to the sprayer 4.

[0039] To make support 2 compact, it is manufactured using additive manufacturing methods. Thus, the housings 8 and 10, the fastening members 5 and 6, and the support and retaining members 12 and 16 are made from a single component. In other words, support 2 is manufactured from the same block of material.

[0040] Unlike component assembly, additive manufacturing methods, such as multi-jet melting (MJF), allow for optimization of the shape factors of the support 2, particularly by allowing the retaining member 16 to be positioned between the guide member 12 and the fastening member 5. The MJF manufacturing method involves applying a binder and a refining agent to the surface to which the powder is to be melted for each layer of the component to be produced; the binder and refining agent function to smooth the surface. Next, a liquid agent is deposited to melt the desired particles. Finally, the layers of material are heated to form the component.

[0041] Furthermore, the identification marks 18 are directly integrated into the support 2 during its manufacturing process. This eliminates the need for additional steps to etch them into the component. This saves time during the manufacturing of the support 2, resulting in lower costs.

[0042] To maintain low manufacturing costs while possessing good mechanical properties, the support component 2 is made of a synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12. This is because the combination of additive manufacturing and polyamide 12 allows for a support component 2 that is lightweight and resistant to solvents used in coating application facilities.

[0043] In one variation, support 2 can be made of, for example, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone, or polyethylene terephthalate.

[0044] In another variation, the fastening member 5 connected to the sprayer includes a different number of drill holes 52, such as three or ten.

[0045] In one variation, the spraying apparatus includes a different number of hoses 11, such as one or three, to deliver the coating product to the sprayer 4. Typically, the number of hoses 11 varies between one and four. Each hose 11 may also be used to deliver rinsing products or solvents.

[0046] In one variation, the number of legs 62 and the number of vertical plates 72 can be varied. For example, the support may include five legs 62 and five vertical plates 72, or three legs 62 and six vertical plates 72.

[0047] In one variant, the high-voltage unit is replaced by a high-voltage plug that directly supplies high-voltage current. In this case, instead of the low-voltage unit, the connector allows the high-voltage unit to be grounded.

[0048] In one variation, the guide member 12 may include a different number of recesses, such as four or eight.

[0049] The above embodiments and variations can be combined with each other to generate new embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A sprayer support (2), comprising: Housing (8) for high-voltage units or plugs; A guide member (12) for at least one coated product hose (11), the guide member describing a cylindrical portion centered on the longitudinal axis (X) of the sprayer support (2), the guide member (12) partially surrounding the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or plug, and the cylindrical portion having staggered recesses (122) on its periphery, the recesses (122) being configured to receive the wound coated product hose (11) and electrically isolate the coated product hose; A retaining member (16) for the air hose (13) describes a portion of a circle surrounding the housing for the high-voltage unit or plug, and this portion of the circle includes, on its periphery, a plurality of housings (162) for receiving and securing the individual air hoses (13). First fastening component (5) for fastening to robot (3); as well as The second fastening member (6) is used to fasten the sprayer (4). The characteristic feature is that the housing (8), the guide member (12), the retaining member (16), the first fastening member (5) and the second fastening member (6) are formed from a single component.

2. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sprayer support is made of synthetic materials.

3. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sprayer support is made of polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone, or polyethylene terephthalate.

4. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sprayer support also includes a housing (10) for the low-pressure unit, which is also formed of the same components as the rest of the support.

5. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first fastening member (5), the retaining member (16), and the second fastening member (6) are aligned along the axis (X) of the support member in the described order.

6. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or plug is a cylinder aligned with the axis (X) of the support.

7. The sprayer support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or plug is located between the first fastening member (5) and the second fastening member (6), the guide member (12) is centered on the axis (X) of the support member, and the guide member has an inner radius (R12) that is greater than the outer radius (R8) of the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or plug.

8. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that, The difference (d1) between the inner radius of the guide member and the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm.

9. The sprayer support (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that, The difference (d1) between the inner radius of the guide member and the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is on the order of 0.5 mm.

10. The sprayer support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The sprayer support includes a marking (18) for identifying the air hose (13).

11. A spraying apparatus (1) comprising a sprayer (4), a robot (3), and a sprayer support (2), wherein the sprayer is connected to the robot via the sprayer support, characterized in that, The sprayer support (2) is as described in any one of the preceding claims.

12. The spraying apparatus (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that, The spraying apparatus includes an air hose (13) held in place by the retaining member (16) and at least one coating product hose (11) guided by the guiding member (12).

13. A method for manufacturing a support member (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, This method is a multi-jet melting additive manufacturing method.

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