An envelope type air-ground dual rail robot spraying operation system for an aircraft whole machine

Abstract

This invention relates to an enveloping, dual-track robotic painting system for aircraft, belonging to the field of automated equipment technology for aircraft maintenance and surface treatment. It includes: several gantry truss support columns arranged around the aircraft painting workstation, and gantry truss beams installed on the gantry truss support columns. The gantry truss support columns and gantry truss beams together form a gantry truss load-bearing structure covering the work space above the aircraft; a transverse overhead track fixedly installed below the gantry truss beams; and a longitudinal overhead track installed on the transverse overhead track, with a first drive motor installed at each end of the longitudinal overhead track. This invention, through the coordinated configuration of a dual-layer ground and air motion platform and a painting robot unit, achieves continuous, enveloping, automatic painting of the aircraft's back, upper wings, vertical tail, belly, underwings, and lateral areas while the aircraft remains stationary.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automated equipment technology for aircraft maintenance and surface treatment, specifically an envelope-type dual-track robotic spraying system for the entire aircraft. Background Technology

[0002] During aircraft refurbishment, routine maintenance, partial repairs, and base-level overhauls, the fuselage, wings, tail, and related external surfaces typically require repainting to restore their protective performance, marking functions, and aesthetic consistency. Unlike painting general panels, shells, or small to medium-sized components, aircraft painting involves large dimensions, significant continuous changes in curved surfaces, large differences in surface height, complex local masking relationships, and large painting spans. Particularly significant differences exist between different areas such as the fuselage back, overwings, vertical tail, fuselage belly, underwings, and fuselage sidewalls, requiring different spray gun operating postures, spatial approach paths, and equipment positioning. Therefore, painting equipment for complete aircraft must not only possess spray gun capabilities but also have a large-scale movement support structure and spatial envelope operation capabilities that adapt to the aircraft's overall shape.

[0003] Currently, aircraft painting still largely relies on manual spraying with the assistance of scaffolding, lifts, and mobile workbenches to complete the work in sections. While this method offers some flexibility, it requires workers to frequently change positions, repeatedly adjust working heights, and paint different areas such as the fuselage back, upper wings, belly, underwings, and sides separately. This results in high labor intensity, low construction efficiency, poor paint uniformity, unstable area transitions, and high safety risks associated with working at high positions. For aircraft with large dimensions and complex surface configurations, traditional manual painting methods are insufficient to meet the requirements of continuous, automated, and consistent painting.

[0004] With the development of industrial robots and automated painting technology, existing technologies have also seen the emergence of painting equipment that places painting robots on fixed bases, ground rails, or partial suspended slides. However, most of this equipment is designed for automobile bodies, sheet metal components, cabin shells, or partial structural parts. The objects they work on are generally of relatively limited size, have strong surface continuity, and the painting area is concentrated on a single side or a single height zone. When this type of structure is directly applied to the painting of an entire aircraft, problems often arise such as insufficient overall span, limited work envelope, separation of upper and lower areas, and insufficient spatial accessibility.

[0005] Specifically, existing fixed or monorail painting equipment typically struggles to simultaneously cover both the high-level areas of the aircraft's upper surface and the low-level areas of its lower surface. While ground-based robots or single-layer rail systems can cover the sides of the fuselage or parts of the lower surface, they often face difficulties accessing high-level areas such as the fuselage back, overwings, and vertical stabilizer, resulting in limited attitude control and insufficient spray gun coverage. Conversely, overhead suspension systems struggle to effectively maintain stable painting of the fuselage belly, underwings, and lower fuselage. Consequently, existing whole-aircraft painting equipment often requires multiple independent work platforms or multiple repositioning operations, leading to complex equipment organization and hindering continuous and unified control throughout the painting process.

[0006] Furthermore, aircraft painting is not a simple planar scanning process, but a complex operation involving multi-directional, multi-height, and multi-area coordinated coverage of the entire aircraft's outer surface. For the upper painting system, single-directional guide rail movement is insufficient to simultaneously handle continuous operation along the length of the aircraft and lateral coverage along the wingspan; for the lower painting system, single-directional ground movement capability is also insufficient to meet the coordinated painting requirements of the fuselage belly, underwings, and lateral fuselage areas. Existing technologies generally lack a dedicated painting system capable of constructing separate movement channels for the upper and lower areas of the aircraft and enabling them to form an enveloping spatial relationship.

[0007] Furthermore, in the upper coating structure for aircraft, simply connecting the guide rails, mobile base, and robot body in series can easily lead to problems such as large overall suspension mass, large moment of inertia, uneven track stress, and insufficient high-level lifting stability. Especially after installing the spray gun assembly, paint supply lines, air supply lines, and auxiliary cables at the robot's end effector, the dynamic load on the upper working unit increases significantly. Without a reasonable track hierarchy, vertical lifting arrangement, and counterweight balance design, problems such as excessive lifting drive load, insufficient operational stability, and decreased high-level coating accuracy can easily occur. Existing upper coating equipment generally lacks specific structural optimizations tailored to the high-level coating requirements of aircraft.

[0008] For underbody painting systems, existing ground motion platforms mostly adopt a single moving base or unidirectional ground rail. When facing the entire aircraft, these often suffer from limited travel, numerous spatial interferences, cluttered ground layouts, and unclear guidance relationships. Especially when it is necessary to cover the belly, underwing, and lateral areas of the fuselage, a simple walking base alone is insufficient to provide stable load-bearing, precise guidance, and large-area lateral coverage. At the same time, the ground painting operation area also needs to consider the aircraft's parking posture, ground clearance, and painting access space. Without a posture adjustment mechanism that works in conjunction with the aircraft parking position, the accessibility of the painting robot to the lower surface and transition areas will be further limited.

[0009] Furthermore, unlike contact processes such as paint removal and sanding, spray painting requires its end effector unit to maintain not only a relatively stable spray distance and angle, but also a continuous and reliable supply of paint, air, and cabling during extensive movement. Therefore, simply configuring the spray painting robot itself is insufficient to meet the overall aircraft spraying requirements; the overall structural design must also consider the end effector, accompanying pipelines, suspension supports, and guidance and protection systems. Current technologies for aircraft spraying systems often lack integrated solutions that combine the upper large-span suspension rails, the lower ground rail structure, the aircraft attitude adjustment platform, and the end effector systems into a single integrated design.

[0010] Therefore, those skilled in the art have provided an envelope-type dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft to solve the problems mentioned in the background art. Summary of the Invention

[0011] To address the problems of insufficient operational envelope, separation of upper and lower surface coverage, unreasonable motion hierarchy settings, insufficient stability of high-level spraying, and poor adaptability of lower spraying stations in existing aircraft whole-body painting equipment, this invention proposes an envelope-type dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft whole-body painting. This system constructs an upper gantry-suspended spraying mechanism and a lower ground-rail-walking spraying mechanism around the aircraft's outline. Through the coordinated configuration of the dual-layer motion platform and the spraying robot unit, continuous envelope-type automatic spraying of the fuselage back, upper wings, vertical tail, fuselage belly, underwings, and lateral areas of the fuselage is achieved while the aircraft remains stationary.

[0012] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: An enveloping, dual-track robotic painting system for aircraft includes: Several gantry truss support columns are set around the aircraft painting work station, and gantry truss beams are installed on the gantry truss support columns. The gantry truss support columns and gantry truss beams together constitute a gantry truss load-bearing structure covering the working space above the aircraft. The overhead rail is fixedly installed below the crossbeam of the gantry truss and runs horizontally. A longitudinal running rail is installed on the transverse running rail of the ceiling rail. Each end of the longitudinal running rail is provided with a first drive motor. The first drive motor is used to drive the longitudinal running rail of the ceiling rail to reciprocate linearly along the Y-direction. A mobile base for the overhead robot is set on the longitudinal running guide rail of the overhead track. A second drive motor is installed on the mobile base for the overhead robot. The second drive motor is used to drive the mobile base for the overhead robot to move along the X-direction. The vertical lifting mechanism is mounted on the mobile base of the overhead rail robot, and the overhead rail painting robot unit is mounted on the vertical lifting mechanism. The overhead rail painting robot unit is equipped with an overhead rail painting execution device at its end. The vertical lifting mechanism can drive the overhead rail painting robot unit to move along the Z-direction. A longitudinal running guide rail is installed on the ground at the spraying work station; the longitudinal running guide rail is installed on the ground. A ground rail moving platform is installed on the longitudinal running guide rail of the ground rail. A third drive motor is installed on the ground rail moving platform. The third drive motor is used to drive the ground rail moving platform to move along the longitudinal running guide rail of the ground rail. A transverse running rail is installed below the ground, which is used to guide and limit the transverse movement of the longitudinal running rail. The longitudinal running guide rail of the ground rail is equipped with a fourth drive motor at both ends. The fourth drive motor is used to drive the longitudinal running guide rail of the ground rail to move in the direction of the transverse running guide rail of the ground rail. The lifting and adjusting platform installed on the ground is used to support and lock the aircraft tires, and to adjust the aircraft's attitude and the distance between the aircraft and the ground. The ground rail painting robot unit installed on the ground rail moving platform and the ground rail painting execution device disposed at the end of the ground rail painting robot unit; Specifically, the reciprocating motion of the longitudinal running guide rail along the Y-direction, the movement of the moving base of the overhead rail robot along the X-direction, the lifting and lowering adjustment of the vertical lifting mechanism along the Z-direction, and the movement of the longitudinal running guide rail of the ground rail in the direction of the transverse running guide rail of the ground rail, in coordination with the movement of the ground rail moving platform on the longitudinal running guide rail of the ground rail, enable an enveloping automatic spraying of the entire outer surface of the aircraft while the aircraft remains stationary.

[0013] As a further aspect of the present invention: the transverse running rail of the overhead rail is arranged below the gantry truss beam, and the lower part of the gantry truss beam is provided with a connector for installing the transverse running rail of the overhead rail. The transverse running rail of the overhead rail is fixedly connected to the gantry truss beam through the connector, so that the transverse running rail of the overhead rail forms a fixed guiding structure suspended above the aircraft.

[0014] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the longitudinal running guide rail of the ceiling track is installed on the transverse running guide rail of the ceiling track through a roller guiding mechanism, a linear slider guiding mechanism or a composite guiding mechanism, and the first drive motors set at both ends of the longitudinal running guide rail of the ceiling track drive the longitudinal running guide rail of the ceiling track to reciprocate along the Y-direction through a synchronous belt transmission mechanism, a gear and rack transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism or a lead screw transmission mechanism.

[0015] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the mobile base of the ceiling-rail robot is slidably connected to the longitudinal running guide rail of the ceiling-rail, and the second drive motor installed on the mobile base of the ceiling-rail robot drives the mobile base of the ceiling-rail robot to move relative to the longitudinal running guide rail of the ceiling-rail in the X-direction through a gear and rack mechanism, a synchronous belt transmission mechanism, a lead screw transmission mechanism or a roller friction transmission mechanism.

[0016] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the vertical lifting mechanism is disposed at the lower part, middle or side of the moving base of the overhead rail robot. The vertical lifting mechanism is an electric screw lifting mechanism, a chain drive lifting mechanism, a gear and rack lifting mechanism or a hydraulic lifting mechanism. The vertical lifting mechanism is equipped with a counterweight unit, which is connected to the overhead rail painting robot unit or to the lifting component of the vertical lifting mechanism.

[0017] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the longitudinal running guide rail is one or two parallel rails, the moving platform of the ground rail is installed on the longitudinal running guide rail via a roller guiding mechanism, a linear slider mechanism or a composite guiding mechanism, and a fourth drive motor provided at both ends of the longitudinal running guide rail drives the longitudinal running guide rail to move in the direction of the transverse running guide rail via a synchronous belt transmission mechanism, a gear and rack transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism or a lead screw transmission mechanism.

[0018] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the transverse running rail of the ground track is buried or installed below the ground, and the transverse running rail of the ground track is used to guide, constrain and limit the transverse movement of the longitudinal running rail of the ground track.

[0019] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the lifting and adjusting platform is set on the ground and cooperates with the aircraft work station. The lifting and adjusting platform is a hydraulic lifting mechanism, an electric screw lifting mechanism, a scissor lifting mechanism or a rack and pinion lifting mechanism. The lifting and adjusting platform is provided with a support structure and a clamping device for supporting and clamping the aircraft tires.

[0020] As a further embodiment of the present invention: both the overhead rail spraying execution device and the ground rail spraying execution device include a spray gun assembly, a mounting bracket, a paint supply interface, an air supply interface, and an atomization adjustment component, wherein the spray gun assembly is installed at the end flange of the corresponding spraying robot unit.

[0021] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the system also includes a paint supply unit, an air supply unit, and a pipeline following unit connected to the overhead rail spraying actuator and the ground rail spraying actuator. The pipeline following unit is used to guide, suspend, retract, or limit the paint supply hose, air supply pipeline, and control cable during the movement of the system.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: While the aircraft remains stationary, continuous, enveloping automatic spraying can be achieved on the upper, lower, and lateral surfaces of the entire aircraft, reducing repetitive repositioning and manual climbing operations, and improving the overall spraying efficiency.

[0023] Through the coordinated design of the upper multi-level kinematic chain and the lower multi-layer guide walking structure, the spatial accessibility to complex curved surfaces, high-level areas and low-level obstructed areas is significantly improved.

[0024] By combining the vertical lifting mechanism with the counterweight unit, the lifting stability, load-bearing balance, and motion accuracy of the high-level spraying are improved, while the driving load is reduced.

[0025] The coordinated structure of the underground horizontal running guide rails and the above-ground longitudinal running guide rails improves the walking stability of the lower platform and the integration of on-site workstations.

[0026] The aircraft's attitude and ground clearance are adjusted by using a lifting and adjusting platform to improve the accessibility and area compatibility of the lower painting area.

[0027] By integrating the spraying actuator with paint supply, air supply, and accompanying pipelines, the continuity of material supply, end-point stability, and reliability of engineering implementation during the spraying operation are improved.

[0028] In summary, this invention is not a simple assembly of existing gantry rails, ground rail platforms, or painting robots. Instead, it proposes an envelope-type dual-track robot painting system with clear hierarchical relationships, clear division of motion, and clear workstation adaptability for aircraft whole-aircraft painting scenarios. It can effectively solve the problems of discontinuous coverage, insufficient accessibility, chaotic motion organization, and poor workstation adaptability in existing technologies under whole-aircraft scale conditions, and has high practical value and engineering promotion significance. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an envelope-type dual-track robotic painting system for aircraft.

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the upper track spraying system structure of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the lower ground rail spraying system of the present invention.

[0032] In the diagram: 1. Gantry truss load-bearing structure; 2. Gantry truss supporting column; 3. Gantry truss crossbeam; 4. Mobile base of the overhead rail robot; 5. Vertical lifting mechanism; 6. Horizontal guide rail of the overhead rail; 7. Longitudinal guide rail of the overhead rail; 8. Overhead rail painting robot unit; 9. Overhead rail painting execution device; 10. Lifting and adjusting platform; 11. Ground rail painting execution device; 12. Ground rail painting robot unit; 13. Horizontal guide rail of the ground rail; 14. Longitudinal guide rail of the ground rail; 15. Ground rail moving platform; 16. Ground; 101. X-direction of movement; 102. Y-direction of movement; 103. Z-direction of movement. Detailed Implementation

[0033] To further illustrate the technical means and effects of the present invention in achieving its intended purpose, the following detailed description of the specific implementation methods, structures, features, and effects of the present invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, is provided below.

[0034] The following will describe in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, how the solution of this application solves the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0035] Please see Figures 1-3 In this embodiment of the invention, an enveloping, dual-track robotic painting system for aircraft is provided. This system is primarily applicable to the automated painting of the outer surfaces of fixed-wing aircraft, suitable for scenarios including full-aircraft repainting, localized repairs, functional coating application, and major overhauls. Addressing existing issues in aircraft painting processes such as separation of upper and lower surface painting, insufficient envelopment of the workspace, poor workstation adaptability, insufficient stability of high-level painting, and unclear lower guidance relationships, this system constructs a dual-layer enveloping painting equipment system comprised of an upper sky-track painting system, a lower ground-track painting system, and an aircraft attitude adjustment platform. This allows for continuous automated painting of the fuselage back, upper wings, vertical tail, horizontal tail, fuselage belly, underwings, and lateral areas of the fuselage while the aircraft remains stationary.

[0036] I. Overall Structure; like Figure 1 As shown, the enveloping dual-track robot painting system in this embodiment includes: a gantry truss load-bearing structure 1, a gantry truss support column 2, a gantry truss beam 3, a ceiling-track robot moving base 4, a vertical lifting mechanism 5, a ceiling-track horizontal running guide rail 6, a ceiling-track longitudinal running guide rail 7, a ceiling-track painting robot unit 8, a ceiling-track painting execution device 9, a lifting and adjusting platform 10, a ground-track painting execution device 11, a ground-track painting robot unit 12, a ground-track horizontal running guide rail 13, a ground-track longitudinal running guide rail 14, a ground-track moving platform 15, and the ground 16.

[0037] The X-direction 101 is the aircraft's heading direction, the Y-direction 102 is perpendicular to the aircraft's heading direction, and the Z-direction 103 is the vertical direction. The system is arranged around the aircraft parking position. The upper structure is responsible for painting the upper surface and high-level areas of the aircraft, while the lower structure is responsible for painting the lower surface and low-level lateral areas. The lifting and adjusting platform 10 is responsible for adjusting the aircraft's attitude and ground clearance, thereby improving the accessibility of painting complex areas.

[0038] The gantry truss load-bearing structure 1 consists of several gantry truss support columns 2 arranged around the spraying work station and gantry truss beams 3 installed on top of the gantry truss support columns 2. The gantry truss load-bearing structure 1 preferably adopts a welded steel frame, a bolted assembly frame, or a modular frame combining welding and assembly. This structure spans above the aircraft parking area, providing a large-span, high-rigidity installation foundation for the upper skyrail spraying system.

[0039] II. Upper ceiling track spraying system; like Figure 2 As shown, the upper overhead rail spraying system is installed below the gantry truss beam 3 and mainly consists of the overhead rail transverse running guide rail 6, the overhead rail longitudinal running guide rail 7, the overhead rail robot moving base 4, the vertical lifting mechanism 5, the overhead rail spraying robot unit 8, and the overhead rail spraying execution device 9.

[0040] The transverse overhead track guide rail 6 is fixedly installed below the gantry truss beam 3. Preferably, the lower part of the gantry truss beam 3 is provided with a connector, and the transverse overhead track guide rail 6 is fixedly connected to the gantry truss beam 3 through a connecting plate, hanging bracket, mounting base, or reinforcing rib to form an upper fixed load-bearing guide rail suspended above the aircraft. This structure ensures the installation strength and overall rigidity of the guide rail, while also providing sufficient suspension space for the lower guide rail and the painting robot.

[0041] The longitudinal guide rail 7 is mounted on the transverse guide rail 6, with a drive motor at each end. The drive motors drive the longitudinal guide rail 7 to reciprocate linearly along the Y-axis 102, thus covering different transverse areas above the aircraft. The drive mechanism can be synchronous belt drive, rack and pinion drive, chain drive, or roller friction drive. By designing the longitudinal guide rail 7 as a transversely reciprocating structure, the entire upper coating system can adapt to different wingspans, different transverse coating areas, and different workstation conditions, avoiding the problem of insufficient upper coverage when using a single-sided arrangement or a fixed track arrangement.

[0042] The mobile base 4 of the overhead rail robot is mounted on the longitudinal running rail 7 of the overhead rail. A drive motor is installed on its body to drive the mobile base 4 to move along the X-direction 101. Thus, the longitudinal running rail 7 is responsible for lateral coverage, while the mobile base 4 is responsible for movement along the aircraft's heading direction. Together, they form a two-dimensional planar motion chain for the upper spraying system. Compared to traditional single-rail suspended robot structures, this invention separates lateral range expansion and directional movement into two different motion units, effectively reducing the load concentration on individual moving components and improving the stability and accuracy of motion control.

[0043] The vertical lifting mechanism 5 is located at the lower part, middle, or side of the overhead rail robot's mobile base 4, and is used to drive the overhead rail painting robot unit 8 to move along the Z-direction 103. The vertical lifting mechanism 5 can be an electric screw lifting mechanism, a chain drive lifting mechanism, a gear and rack lifting mechanism, or a hydraulic lifting mechanism. Preferably, the vertical lifting mechanism 5 is equipped with a counterweight unit to balance the lifting load of the overhead rail painting robot unit 8 and the overhead rail painting actuator 9, so as to reduce the vertical drive burden, reduce the impact of lifting and stopping, and improve the stability of high-level painting operations.

[0044] The overhead rail painting robot unit 8 is mounted on the vertical lifting mechanism 5, and its end is equipped with an overhead rail painting execution device 9. The overhead rail painting robot unit 8 is preferably a six-degree-of-freedom or seven-degree-of-freedom industrial robot. The overhead rail painting execution device 9 includes a spray gun assembly, a mounting bracket, a paint supply interface, an air supply interface, and an atomization adjustment component, used to realize the automatic spraying of primer, topcoat, repair paint, or functional coating materials.

[0045] For ease of location description, the position of the upper spraying unit can be represented as: ; in, This indicates the displacement of the moving base 4 of the overhead track robot along the X-direction 101. This indicates the displacement of the longitudinal guide rail 7 of the overhead track along the Y-direction 102. This indicates the displacement of the vertical lifting mechanism 5 along the Z-direction 103.

[0046] For any target spraying point, its coordinates can be represented as: ; The spatial error of the upper spraying unit relative to the target spraying point can be expressed as: ; In the actual control process, through the , , The joint adjustment of the end-effector posture of the overhead rail painting robot unit 8 reduces the error. Minimize the size of the spray gun to ensure it can stably approach high-level areas such as the fuselage, upper wings, vertical tail, and horizontal tail.

[0047] To reduce the actual load on the vertical lifting mechanism 5, it is preferable that the balancing force provided by the counterweight unit satisfies the following: ; in, The balancing force provided to the counterweight unit This is the equivalent gravity for the overhead rail painting robot unit 8 and its end-effector overhead rail painting actuator 9. This setting reduces the power required for vertical drive, improves lifting stability, and is particularly beneficial for the painting stability of high and slender areas such as the tail fin and upper fuselage.

[0048] III. Lower ground rail spraying system; like Figure 3 As shown, the lower ground rail spraying system mainly consists of a ground rail longitudinal running guide rail 14, a ground rail transverse running guide rail 13, a ground rail moving platform 15, a ground rail spraying robot unit 12, and a ground rail spraying execution device 11.

[0049] The longitudinal running guide rail 14 is mounted on the ground 16. Preferably, the longitudinal running guide rail 14 can be one or two parallel rails, used to support the moving platform 15. The moving platform 15 is mounted on the longitudinal running guide rail 14 and cooperates with the longitudinal running guide rail 14 through a roller guiding mechanism, a linear slider mechanism, or a composite guiding mechanism.

[0050] In this embodiment, drive motors are installed at both ends of the longitudinal running guide rail 14. The drive motors drive the longitudinal running guide rail 14 to move in the direction of the transverse running guide rail 13. The ground rail moving platform 15 moves synchronously with the longitudinal running guide rail 14. This structure differs from the traditional scheme of "a single moving chassis directly moving laterally on the ground 16". Instead, it separates the load-bearing relationship from the guiding relationship through a hierarchical arrangement of "the longitudinal running guide rail 14 supporting the platform and the transverse running guide rail 13 defining the direction", thereby improving the stability and guiding accuracy of the substructure under long-stroke conditions.

[0051] The lateral running guide rail 13 is located below the ground 16 and is used to guide and limit the lateral movement of the longitudinal running guide rail 14. Positioning the lateral running guide rail 13 below the ground 16 reduces the impact of exposed guide rails on aircraft entry and exit from the workstation, ground 16 cleaning, personnel passage, and spray booth layout. It also helps reduce the risk of paint buildup, collisions, and contamination on the guide rails.

[0052] The ground rail painting robot unit 12 is mounted on the ground rail moving platform 15, and a ground rail painting execution device 11 is installed at its end. The ground rail painting execution device 11 and the overhead rail painting execution device 9 can adopt the same or similar spray gun end configuration to achieve uniformity in process capability between the upper and lower painting units. The ground rail painting robot unit 12 is mainly responsible for painting the fuselage belly, underwings, lower sides of the fuselage, and local transition areas.

[0053] To facilitate the description of the location of the lower spraying unit, its station position can be represented as: ; in, This indicates the relative working position of the end effector of the ground-rail painting robot unit 12 in the heading direction. This indicates the displacement of the longitudinal running guide rail 14 along the transverse running guide rail 13 of the ground rail. This indicates the height position of the spray gun tip relative to the ground at 16.

[0054] In this embodiment, the lateral movement of the lower spraying system is mainly completed by the longitudinal running guide rail 14, while the robot body is responsible for local attitude adjustment and directional path tracking. This allows the large displacement movement of the supporting platform and the small-range attitude compensation of the spray gun tip to be completed in layers, which is beneficial to improving the stability of the spraying trajectory in complex areas such as the fuselage and underwings.

[0055] IV. Lifting and Adjustment Platform 10; The lifting and adjusting platform 10 is set on the ground 16 and works in conjunction with the aircraft parking position. Unlike conventional lifting mechanisms used to adjust the installation height of the robot body, the lifting and adjusting platform 10 in this embodiment is mainly used to support the aircraft tires. By providing partial support and lifting for the aircraft landing gear tires, the aircraft attitude and the distance between the aircraft and the ground 16 can be adjusted, thereby improving the accessibility of painting the belly, underwing, and lower fuselage areas.

[0056] Preferably, the lifting and adjusting platform 10 is positioned corresponding to the aircraft landing gear tire, and its upper part is equipped with a support structure adapted to the tire's shape. The support structure can be an arc-shaped bracket, a V-shaped bracket, an arc-groove bracket, or a support seat with flexible padding to improve tire stress stability and reduce the risk of local indentation. The lifting and adjusting platform 10 can use a hydraulic lifting mechanism, an electric screw lifting mechanism, a scissor lifting mechanism, or a rack and pinion lifting mechanism to achieve lifting and lowering movements.

[0057] To improve aircraft stability during lift and attitude adjustment, the lift adjustment platform 10 is equipped with a clamping device. This clamping device is used to hold, limit, or prevent slippage of the aircraft tires, preventing lateral slippage, longitudinal movement, or attitude deviation during lift and lowering. The clamping device can employ a mechanical clamping arm structure, a hydraulic clamping structure, an electric locking structure, or a limit stop structure. Preferably, the clamping device is located on both sides or the front and rear sides of the lift adjustment platform 10. After the tire enters the support position, it clamps or limits the outer side of the tire, thereby forming a stable support and constraint relationship.

[0058] In this embodiment, the lifting platform 10 does not simply raise the aircraft, but rather, by controlling the tire support height and locking status, enables the aircraft to achieve local attitude adjustment capabilities while maintaining its overall parking position essentially unchanged. Let the initial ground clearance of the aircraft be... The ground clearance after adjustment by the lifting platform 10 is: Then we have: ; in, The lifting capacity provided to the lifting adjustment platform 10. This is achieved through appropriate selection. This allows for more favorable painting space in areas that were previously difficult for spray guns to access, such as the deep belly of the fuselage, the partially obscured areas under the wings, and the transition area on the lower side of the fuselage.

[0059] Furthermore, when the nose landing gear tires and main landing gear tires are respectively equipped with lifting adjustment platforms 10, the pitch or roll attitude of the aircraft can be adjusted by controlling the difference in the lifting amount of different platforms. For example, when the lifting amount of the lifting adjustment platform 10 corresponding to a certain main landing gear tire increases, the aircraft wing can obtain a larger underside clearance, thereby improving the accessibility of the ground rail painting robot unit 12 to the underwing area. Thus, it can be seen that the lifting adjustment platform 10 in this embodiment not only provides ground clearance adjustment function, but also serves as an aircraft attitude adjustment unit, creating better working conditions for the lower painting system.

[0060] Compared to existing technologies that rely solely on robot end-effector posture compensation to address access problems in complex areas, this invention establishes a synergistic relationship between the workstation's posture adjustment capability and the dual-track spraying system by incorporating a lifting and adjusting platform 10 that directly acts on the aircraft tires and its clamping device. This reduces the excessive posture deflection required by the spraying robot in low-level complex areas and also helps improve the control stability of the spray distance, spray angle, and trajectory continuity between the spray gun and the workpiece surface, thereby enhancing the overall spraying quality and the reliability of the project implementation.

[0061] V. Overall machine painting zoning and path organization; In this embodiment, to improve the continuity, uniformity, and operational efficiency of the overall aircraft coating, the aircraft's outer surface is first divided into coating zones according to structural regions, curvature changes, normal directions, occlusion relationships, and process requirements. Preferably, the entire outer surface can be divided into the fuselage back region, the upper fuselage region, the upper wing surface region, the vertical tail region, the horizontal tail region, the fuselage belly region, the lower fuselage side region, the lower wing surface region, and various wing-body and tail-body transition regions. Furthermore, to facilitate robot path planning and coating parameter allocation, each region can be discretized into several strip-shaped coating sub-regions along a predetermined direction.

[0062] The sprayed strips are numbered sequentially as follows: ; in, Indicates the first Representative points, center points, or path reference positions of each sprayed stripe. This indicates the total number of spraying strips for the entire machine. This numbering method breaks down the overall spraying task from a large area into several smaller, independently plannable, independently executable, and sequentially connected strip units. This allows the system to automatically select between the upper overhead rail spraying system and the lower ground rail spraying system based on the position and orientation of different strips.

[0063] For each sprayed strip, a set of spraying process parameters can be associated, which are expressed as follows: ; in, For the first Paint output per unit time for each spraying stripe The speed at which the spray gun travels relative to the workpiece surface. For spray distance, For the spraying angle, This refers to the overlap ratio. Based on the curvature, normal direction, coating requirements, and accessibility conditions of different regions, different sets of process parameters can be assigned to different strips. This allows the spraying system to ensure the consistency of the entire machine's spraying while also taking into account the personalized process requirements of complex local areas.

[0064] During the strip path organization process, the upper surface of the fuselage, the vertical tail, the horizontal tail, and the upper area of ​​the fuselage are preferably assigned to the overhead rail painting robot unit 8; the lower surface of the fuselage, the lower side of the fuselage, and the lower transition area are assigned to the ground rail painting robot unit 12. For transition areas located on the sides of the fuselage or wing roots that are accessible to both the upper and lower systems, the assignment is optimized based on the approach angle of the spray gun, the degree of local obstruction, and the continuity of the path, in order to reduce abrupt changes in spray gun attitude and the number of area switching times.

[0065] When planning the path, the spraying direction of a single strip can be defined as being consistent with the strip's extension direction. For long, continuous areas such as the fuselage back and belly, a parallel strip scanning method is preferred; for areas with rapid shape changes such as the wing root and tail fin connection area, a method of locally changing the step distance or locally shortening the strip length is preferred to ensure path adhesion and film thickness uniformity.

[0066] Let the width of a single spray be The overlap width between adjacent stripes is The overlap rate is: ; By controlling the overlap rate This allows for sufficient overlap between adjacent strips while avoiding excessive re-coating that could result in localized excessive film thickness. Preferably, a more stable overlap rate can be used in large, flat areas, while the overlap rate can be appropriately increased in areas with significant curvature changes or boundary transitions to improve edge transition quality.

[0067] To facilitate the organization and implementation of the overall aircraft painting task, a zoning determination rule can be established based on the location of the representative points of the spray strips. If a representative point of a spray strip is located on the upper surface or high area of ​​the aircraft and is more easily accessible from the upper overhead spray system, then the spray strip is assigned to the overhead spray task set; if a representative point of a spray strip is located on the lower surface or low area of ​​the aircraft and is more easily accessible from the lower ground spray system, then the spray strip is assigned to the ground spray task set. For spray strips accessible by both the upper and lower systems, the allocation is preferably based on the principle of shortest travel distance, minimal change in spray gun attitude, or minimal obstruction.

[0068] To reduce idle travel and repetitive positioning during the overall aircraft painting process, the painting path can be organized in the order of "top to bottom" or "main area first, transition area later." Preferably, the overhead rail painting robot unit 8 first completes the large-area continuous strip painting of the fuselage back, upper wings, and high tail area, then the ground rail painting robot unit 12 completes the painting of the fuselage belly, underwings, and lower sides, and finally, touch-up painting and overlap correction are performed at the junction of the upper and lower parts and complex transition areas. This can improve the consistency of the overall aircraft painting operation cycle and reduce the waiting time between different systems.

[0069] In this embodiment, to improve the engineering feasibility of path organization, uniform constraints can be imposed on strip length, strip spacing, and path transition methods. For long, straight areas, continuous spraying with long strips can be used; for areas with complex boundaries, segmented spraying with short strips can be used. When switching paths, it is preferable to have the spray gun return or transition along the transition path in the non-spraying state to reduce local buildup at the spraying boundary.

[0070] By using the above-mentioned whole-aircraft painting zoning and path organization method, the present invention can decompose the complex whole-aircraft painting task into several painting strip units with clear structure, well-defined parameters, and easy scheduling. Combined with the synergistic effect of the upper sky rail painting system, the lower ground rail painting system, and the aircraft attitude adjustment platform, the continuous organization and efficient implementation of the whole-aircraft outer surface painting operation can be achieved.

[0071] VI. Spraying parameter control; During the spraying process, the paint output at the spray gun tip, the travel speed, the spray distance, and the spray angle collectively determine the film quality. To facilitate process parameter setting, the following simplified film-forming relationship can be used for estimation: ; in, The film thickness per unit area This refers to the amount of paint dispensed by the spray gun per unit time. The speed at which the spray gun travels relative to the workpiece surface. This is a comprehensive correction factor related to spray distance, spray angle, atomization efficiency, and coating deposition efficiency.

[0072] For different regions, adjustments can be made based on curvature changes, normal direction, local obstruction, and airflow organization conditions. , , The value of is determined to ensure the consistency of film thickness and appearance quality in different areas of the whole machine.

[0073] VII. System collaborative operation process; In actual use, the aircraft is towed into the painting station by a towing device and kept stationary. Subsequently, according to the aircraft size, target painting area, and process parameter settings, the upper ceiling rail painting system first achieves lateral coarse positioning by moving along the Y-direction 102 via the longitudinal running guide rail 7, then achieves heading positioning by moving along the X-direction 101 via the moving base 4 of the ceiling rail robot, and finally adjusts the height by moving along the Z-direction 103 via the vertical lifting mechanism 5, so that the ceiling rail painting robot unit 8 reaches the high target area.

[0074] Meanwhile, the lower ground rail painting system adjusts the lateral position of the lower painting unit by moving the longitudinal guide rail 14 along the transverse guide rail 13. The ground rail painting robot unit 12, supported by the ground rail moving platform 15, completes the painting of the lower surface and lateral areas. For areas with insufficient clearance or unfavorable attitude, the aircraft attitude is first adjusted by the lifting adjustment platform 10 before painting is carried out.

[0075] Through the aforementioned structural combination, this invention can create an enveloping spraying work space around the entire outer surface of the aircraft while the aircraft remains stationary. Compared with traditional manual zoned spraying or single-layer spraying platforms, this invention has the advantages of clear motion hierarchy, complete spatial coverage, strong accessibility, high structural stability, and good workstation adaptability. It is especially suitable for aircraft spraying scenarios with large overall dimensions, complex curved surfaces, and significant differences between the upper and lower surfaces.

[0076] 8. Optional Implementation Methods; Without departing from the overall concept of the present invention, the following changes can be made to this embodiment: Firstly, the overhead rail spraying robot unit 8 and the ground rail spraying robot unit 12 can be equipped with industrial robots of different load levels and working radii according to different machine models and spraying ranges. Secondly, the drive mechanisms of the overhead track longitudinal running guide 7 and the ground track longitudinal running guide 14 can be selected with different motors and transmission forms according to the stroke, accuracy and load requirements; Third, the overhead rail spraying actuator 9 and the ground rail spraying actuator 11 can be equipped with different types of spray gun components and atomizing devices according to the type of paint, process requirements and spray width requirements; Fourth, the lifting and adjusting platform 10 can be arranged as a single-point, double-point, or multi-point structure according to the aircraft support method to adapt to the attitude adjustment needs of different aircraft models.

[0077] In summary, this embodiment fully demonstrates that the enveloping dual-track robotic painting system for aircraft of the present invention has a clear structural hierarchy, reasonable motion logic, strong spatial envelopment capability and good engineering feasibility, and can effectively solve the shortcomings of existing whole-aircraft painting equipment in terms of continuous coverage of upper and lower surfaces, high-level painting stability, lower guiding organization and workstation adaptation.

[0078] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An envelope-type dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft, characterized in that, include: A number of gantry truss support columns (2) are set around the aircraft painting work station, and gantry truss beams (3) are installed on the gantry truss support columns (2). The gantry truss support columns (2) and gantry truss beams (3) together constitute a gantry truss load-bearing structure (1) covering the working space above the aircraft. The overhead rail transverse running guide (6) is fixedly installed below the gantry truss crossbeam (3); A longitudinal running rail (7) is installed on the transverse running rail (6) of the overhead rail. Each end of the longitudinal running rail (7) is provided with a first drive motor. The first drive motor is used to drive the longitudinal running rail (7) of the overhead rail to reciprocate linearly along the Y-direction (102). The overhead robot mobile base (4) is set on the longitudinal running guide rail (7) of the overhead rail. A second drive motor is installed on the overhead robot mobile base (4). The second drive motor is used to drive the overhead robot mobile base (4) to move along the X-direction (101). The vertical lifting mechanism (5) is set on the mobile base (4) of the overhead rail robot, and the overhead rail painting robot unit (8) is installed on the vertical lifting mechanism (5). The overhead rail painting robot unit (8) is provided with an overhead rail painting execution device (9) at its end. The vertical lifting mechanism (5) can drive the overhead rail painting robot unit (8) to move along the Z-direction (103). A longitudinal running guide rail (14) is set on the ground (16) of the spraying work station. A ground rail moving platform (15) is installed on the longitudinal running guide rail (14) of the ground rail. A third drive motor is installed on the ground rail moving platform (15) and the third drive motor is used to drive the ground rail moving platform (15) to move along the longitudinal running guide rail (14). A transverse running guide rail (13) is set below the ground (16), which is used to guide and limit the transverse movement of the longitudinal running guide rail (14). The longitudinal running guide rail (14) of the ground rail is equipped with a fourth drive motor at both ends. The fourth drive motor is used to drive the longitudinal running guide rail (14) of the ground rail to move in the direction of the transverse running guide rail (13) of the ground rail. A lifting adjustment platform (10) is set on the ground (16). The lifting adjustment platform (10) is used to support and clamp the aircraft tires, adjust the attitude of the aircraft and the distance between the aircraft and the ground (16). The ground rail spraying robot unit (12) is installed on the ground rail mobile platform (15) and the ground rail spraying execution device (11) is located at the end of the ground rail spraying robot unit (12).

2. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The transverse running rail (6) of the sky rail is located below the gantry truss beam (3). The lower part of the gantry truss beam (3) is provided with a connector for installing the transverse running rail (6). The transverse running rail (6) of the sky rail is fixedly connected to the gantry truss beam (3) through the connector, so that the transverse running rail (6) of the sky rail forms a fixed guide structure suspended above the aircraft.

3. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The longitudinal running guide rail (7) of the ceiling track is installed on the transverse running guide rail (6) of the ceiling track through a roller guide mechanism, a linear slider guide mechanism or a composite guide mechanism. The first drive motors set at both ends of the longitudinal running guide rail (7) of the ceiling track drive the longitudinal running guide rail (7) of the ceiling track reciprocates along the Y-direction (102) through a synchronous belt drive mechanism, a gear and rack drive mechanism, a chain drive mechanism or a screw drive mechanism.

4. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The mobile base (4) of the overhead rail robot is slidably connected to the longitudinal running guide rail (7) of the overhead rail. The second drive motor installed on the mobile base (4) of the overhead rail robot drives the mobile base (4) of the overhead rail robot to move relative to the longitudinal running guide rail (7) in the X direction (101) through a gear and rack mechanism, a synchronous belt transmission mechanism, a screw transmission mechanism or a roller friction transmission mechanism.

5. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The vertical lifting mechanism (5) is located at the lower part, middle part or side of the mobile base (4) of the overhead rail robot. The vertical lifting mechanism (5) is an electric screw lifting mechanism, a chain drive lifting mechanism, a gear and rack lifting mechanism or a hydraulic lifting mechanism. The vertical lifting mechanism (5) is equipped with a counterweight unit. The counterweight unit is connected to the overhead rail painting robot unit (8) or to the lifting component of the vertical lifting mechanism (5).

6. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The longitudinal running guide rail (14) is one or two parallel rails. The moving platform (15) of the ground rail is installed on the longitudinal running guide rail (14) through a roller guide mechanism, a linear slider mechanism or a composite guide mechanism. The fourth drive motors set at both ends of the longitudinal running guide rail (14) drive the longitudinal running guide rail (14) to move in the direction of the transverse running guide rail (13) of the ground rail through a synchronous belt drive mechanism, a gear and rack drive mechanism, a chain drive mechanism or a screw drive mechanism.

7. The enveloping dual-track robotic painting system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The transverse running guide rail (13) of the ground rail is buried or installed below the ground (16). The transverse running guide rail (13) is used to guide, constrain and limit the transverse movement of the longitudinal running guide rail (14) of the ground rail.

8. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting adjustment platform (10) is set on the ground (16) and cooperates with the aircraft work station. The lifting adjustment platform (10) is a hydraulic lifting mechanism, an electric screw lifting mechanism, a scissor lifting mechanism or a rack and pinion lifting mechanism. The lifting adjustment platform (10) is provided with a support structure and a clamping device for supporting and clamping the aircraft tires.

9. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Both the overhead rail spraying actuator (9) and the ground rail spraying actuator (11) include a spray gun assembly, a mounting bracket, a paint supply interface, an air supply interface, and an atomization adjustment component. The spray gun assembly is installed at the end flange of the corresponding spraying robot unit.

10. The enveloping dual-track robotic spraying system for aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The system also includes a paint supply unit, an air supply unit, and a pipeline following unit connected to the overhead rail spraying actuator (9) and the ground rail spraying actuator (11). The pipeline following unit is used to guide, suspend, retract, or limit the paint supply hose, air supply pipeline, and control cable during the movement of the system.

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