Coating device with a transmission device for wireless transmission of energy and / or data

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a coating device (e.g. painting robot) for coating components (e.g. motor vehicle body components).

[0002] In modern paint shops for painting motor vehicle body components, rotary atomizers are typically used as application devices. These have an electrostatic coating agent charge to achieve a high application efficiency and minimize overspray. During painting, the rotary atomizer is at a high voltage potential so that the applied paint is charged to a high voltage potential. The rotary atomizer may contain electrically operated devices (e.g. sensors) that require a power supply. However, a wired power supply to the devices is problematic because the rotary atomizer and thus also the device to be powered are at a high voltage potential, which would require electrical isolation.In addition, electrical consumers can be arranged not only in the rotary atomizer, but also outside the rotary atomizer, e.g. on a robot arm of the painting robot, in a color changer or in a dosing pump, whereby the power supply of the electrical consumers is also problematic. In such cases, the electrical consumers are usually supplied with the power required for operation by batteries.

[0003] However, battery power comes with several disadvantages. For example, batteries have a relatively short lifespan, meaning they need to be replaced relatively frequently. This also leads to relatively high resource consumption, as new batteries are needed regularly and old batteries must be disposed of. Finally, battery consumption is also associated with relatively high costs.

[0004] For the general technical background of the invention, reference should be made to WO 2008 / 037456 A1, DE 103 09 143 A1, JP 2016 007 586 A and US 2007 / 276538 A1.

[0005] Finally, EP 1 232 799 A2 discloses a coating device according to the preamble of claim 1. However, this known coating device is not entirely satisfactory. The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a correspondingly improved coating device that avoids the aforementioned disadvantages as far as possible.

[0006] This object is achieved by a coating device according to the invention according to the main claim.

[0007] The coating device according to the invention is used to coat components with a coating agent.

[0008] This is preferably a painting device for painting motor vehicle body components, i.e. the coating agent used is a paint and the painted components are motor vehicle body components.

[0009] However, the invention is not limited to paints with regard to the coating agent used, but can also be implemented with other types of coating agents, such as insulating materials, sealants, adhesives or the like.

[0010] Furthermore, the invention is not limited to motor vehicle body components with regard to the components to be coated, but is also suitable for coating other types of components, such as aircraft components.

[0011] The coating device according to the invention, in accordance with the prior art described above, initially comprises at least one electrical load that requires electrical energy for operation. For example, the load may be an electrically operated sensor, but various other load types are also possible, as will be described in detail below.

[0012] The coating device according to the invention also has a transmission system for wirelessly transmitting the electrical energy required to operate the consumer to the consumer and / or for transmitting data from and / or to the at least one consumer.

[0013] It should be noted that the transmission system can directly supply the electrical load (e.g., sensor) with the power required for operation. Alternatively, however, it is also possible for the transmission system to supply power to a buffer storage device (e.g., accumulator), with the electrical load then drawing the power required for operation from the load.

[0014] The transmission system according to the invention can therefore fulfill various functions, namely, on the one hand, the transmission of energy and, on the other hand, the transmission of data. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the transmission system fulfills both functions, i.e., the transmission system wirelessly transmits the electrical energy required to operate the consumer to the consumer and, on the other hand, enables data transmission from the consumer and / or to the consumer. However, the invention also encompasses other variants of the invention in which the transmission system serves only for energy transmission or only for data transmission.

[0015] It was already mentioned at the beginning with regard to the prior art that the power supply of electrical consumers in a high-voltage area is problematic. The coating device according to the invention therefore preferably has such a high-voltage area which, during operation of the coating device, is under high voltage (e.g., more than 1 kV, 10 kV, or 50 kV) and which, for example, contains an electrostatic coating agent charge, as is known per se from the prior art. In addition, the coating device according to the invention preferably has an electrically grounded area, as is also known per se from the prior art. The electrical consumer is arranged within the high-voltage area, and the transmission system transmits the voltage required to operate the consumer (e.g.,The electrical energy required by the sensor (e.g., sensor) is transferred from the electrically grounded area to the high-voltage area, particularly directly to the consumer. The wireless energy transmission simultaneously creates a potential separation between the electrically grounded area on the one hand and the high-voltage area on the other.

[0016] However, the inventive principle of a wireless transmission system is not only suitable for supplying consumers in a high-voltage area, but can also be used to supply consumers in an explosion-proof area. For example, coating facilities often have explosion-proof areas, which are usually designed as enclosed spaces and can be purged with a gas, for example, to prevent the formation of an explosive gas mixture. The technical details of explosion-proof areas are defined, for example, in the technical standard DIN EN 60079-2 and in the ATEX Directives 2014 / 34 / EU and 1999 / 92 / EC (ATEX: AT mosphers EXexplosibles) of the European Union (EU). The term "explosive area" used in the context of the invention is therefore preferably to be understood in accordance with this technical standard or directive. In one variant of the invention, the coating device according to the invention can therefore have an explosion-proof area, which is preferably designed as a closed space within the coating device. The consumer is arranged within the explosion-proof area, and the transmission system wirelessly transmits the electrical energy required to operate the consumer from outside the explosion-proof area into the explosion-proof area, in particular directly to the consumer. For example, electrical consumers can be arranged in the distal robot arm ("arm 2", "application arm") of a painting robot, which are then located in an explosion-proof area.The wireless transmission system can then transmit electrical energy and / or data out of and / or into the explosion-proof area.

[0017] The invention therefore encompasses two different variants: the supply of an electrical consumer in a high-voltage area, and the supply of a consumer in an explosion-proof area. These two variants can also be combined within the scope of the invention. For example, the high-voltage area can be at least partially an explosion-proof area in which the consumer is located, which is wirelessly supplied with the electrical energy required for operation by the transmission system. Alternatively, however, it is also possible for the high-voltage area to not be explosion-proof, or for the explosion-proof area to not have a high-voltage area. Even in these alternative cases, the invention offers significant advantages.

[0018] It has already been mentioned above that the transmission system operates wirelessly, namely within the framework of an inductive coupling or a resonant-inductive coupling.

[0019] With inductive coupling, the transmission system has a transmitting coil and a receiving coil that are inductively coupled to one another, thus enabling energy transfer from the transmitting coil to the receiving coil. The transmitting coil is located in the electrically grounded area or outside the explosion-proof area. The receiving coil, on the other hand, is located in the high-voltage area or in the explosion-proof area. A high-voltage-resistant insulating gap is preferably located between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil to electrically isolate the transmitting coil from the receiving coil, so that the transmitting coil can be at ground potential while the receiving coil can be at high-voltage potential.

[0020] In addition, the transmission system preferably includes an oscillator connected to the transmitting coil and also located in the electrically grounded area or outside the explosion-proof area. The oscillator drives the transmitting coil with an alternating voltage signal, which can, for example, have a frequency of 10 kHz up to the MHz range. Ranges (i.e., distances between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil) are possible, ranging from a few centimeters with inductive coupling to several meters with resonant-inductive coupling.

[0021] Furthermore, the coating device according to the invention preferably has a rectifier connected to the receiving coil and arranged in the high-voltage area or in the explosion-proof area. The rectifier receives the alternating current signal generated by the receiving coil and converts it into a direct current signal for the power supply of the consumer.

[0022] It was already mentioned above that the transmission system can transmit not only energy but also data. First, it should be noted that data transmission can be unidirectional or bidirectional. Unidirectional data transmission offers two options. One option involves transmitting the data only toward the consumer. Another option involves transmitting the data only from the consumer, for example, to a central evaluation unit.

[0023] Regarding the data to be transmitted, various options exist within the scope of the invention. For example, firmware that is installed on the consumer can be transmitted. This allows the firmware installed on the consumer to be easily updated.

[0024] It is also possible for the data to be process data generated by at least one sensor and to reflect the current state of a process in at least one part of the coating system. For example, the sensor may be a pressure sensor, although other sensor types are also possible, as will be described in more detail. The transmitted process data may therefore be, for example, pressure values (e.g. paint pressure, shaping air pressure, drive air pressure, brake air pressure), flow rate values (e.g. paint flow, shaping air flow, drive air flow, brake air flow), voltage values (e.g. charging voltage of an electrostatic coating agent charge) or current values (e.g. charging current of an electrostatic coating agent charge).

[0025] Furthermore, the transmitted data can be a product identification code that identifies at least one component of the coating system. The transmission device can then read the product identification code and thus detect, for example, counterfeit products or components requiring maintenance.

[0026] In addition, the data to be transmitted can also be configuration data or parameterization data.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the coating device is a coating robot. Such coating robots are known per se from the prior art and therefore need not be described in detail. However, it should be mentioned at this point that such coating robots can have at least one robot arm, with typical coating robots having a proximal robot arm ("arm 1") and a distal robot arm ("arm 2"). The distal robot arm is pivotable relative to the proximal robot arm and usually carries a multi-axis robot wrist at its end, with an application device (e.g., rotary atomizer or print head) being mounted on the robot wrist.

[0028] The high-voltage area or the explosion-proof area is preferably located in one of the robot arms (e.g. "Arm 2").

[0029] The electrically grounded area is then preferably located in the same robot arm (e.g. "Arm 2") as the high-voltage area.

[0030] The high-voltage area in the robot arm (e.g. "Arm 2") is separated from the electrically grounded area by an insulating section (e.g. a plastic partition).

[0031] The transmitting coil and the receiving coil can then also be arranged in the robot arm (e.g. "Arm 2").

[0032] Furthermore, the electrical load can also be arranged in the same robot arm (e.g. "Arm 2"), which can be, for example, a sensor collection device that collects measurement signals from several sensors, wherein the sensor collection device is preferably arranged in the distal robot arm.

[0033] Furthermore, the coating device can also have a high-voltage cascade for electrostatic coating agent charging, which is then preferably arranged in the proximal robot arm.

[0034] Two possible installation examples for a coating robot are described below.

[0035] In a first installation example, the distal robot arm ("Arm 2") contains the essential components, namely the transmitting coil, the receiving coil, the insulating section and the consumer.

[0036] In another embodiment, however, the essential components are arranged in the proximal robot arm ("Arm 1"), namely the transmitting coil, the receiving coil, the insulating section and the high-voltage cascade.

[0037] The aforementioned sensor can, for example, be a pressure sensor, particularly on a metering pump that meters the coating agent. Two pressure sensors can also be provided, measuring the coating agent pressure upstream of the metering pump and downstream of the metering pump. Alternatively, a flow sensor, a speed sensor, a force sensor, an acceleration sensor, a vibration sensor, or a temperature sensor can be used, to name just a few examples.

[0038] Furthermore, the electrical consumer can be an electrically operated valve, such as a shaping air valve, a coating agent valve, a drive air valve of a pneumatically driven rotary atomizer or a brake air valve of a pneumatically driven rotary atomizer.

[0039] Furthermore, it is possible that the consumer is a sender for sending data or a receiver for receiving data.

[0040] However, the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples with regard to the type of electrically operated consumer.

[0041] Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the coating device according to the invention can also have another manipulator instead of a coating robot or in addition thereto, e.g. a surface machine, a surface automat or a multi-axis gantry.

[0042] Furthermore, it should be generally noted that the electrical load can be located in the immediate vicinity of the receiving unit (e.g., receiving coil) of the wireless transmission system. However, it is also possible, alternatively, for the electrical load to be spatially separated from the receiving unit (e.g., receiving coil) of the wireless transmission system, in which case a connecting line connects the electrical load to the receiving unit (e.g., receiving coil) of the wireless transmission system.

[0043] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are explained in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the figures. Figure 1shows a schematic representation of a coating device with a high-voltage area and an electrically grounded area and a wireless energy transfer between the two areas. Figure 2 shows the use of the transmission device according to Figure 1 in a painting robot. Figure 3A shows a variation of Figure 2 , wherein the transmission device is arranged in the proximal robot arm ("Arm 1"). Figure 3B shows the transmission device Figure 3A in a schematic detailed representation. Figure 4A shows a perspective view of a dosing pump for a coating device with a pressure measuring module for pressure measurement. Figure 4B shows a perspective view of the pressure measuring module of the dosing pump from Figure 4A .

[0044] In the following, the schematic representation of a coating device according to the invention is shown in accordance with Figure 1For example, this could be a painting robot for painting motor vehicle body components, which has a rotary atomizer with an electrostatic coating agent charge as the application device.

[0045] The coating device has a high-voltage area 1, which during operation has a high-voltage potential of several 10 kV due to the electrostatic coating agent charging.

[0046] In addition, the coating device has an electrically grounded area 2 which is at earth potential during operation.

[0047] Between the earthed area 2 and the high-voltage area 1 there is an insulating distance 3 which insulates the high-voltage area 1 from the electrically earthed area 2.

[0048] In the high-voltage area 1 there is an electrical consumer 4, which can be, for example, an electrically operated pressure sensor.

[0049] In the grounded area 2 there is an oscillator 5 which drives a transmitting coil 6 with a high-frequency signal, wherein the transmitting coil 6 excites a resonant circuit 7 in the electrically grounded area 2.

[0050] In the high-voltage area 1 there is a correspondingly tuned further resonant circuit 8, which is arranged next to a receiving coil 9.

[0051] The receiving coil 9 is resonantly inductively coupled to the transmitting coil 6 via the resonant circuits 7, 8. This means that the oscillator 5 generates high-frequency energy, which is passed to the receiving coil 9 via the inductive coupling and rectified there by a rectifier 10. The rectifier 10 then supplies the load 4 with the electrical energy required for operation.

[0052] It should be noted that high-voltage area 1 is also an explosion-proof area according to the technical standard DIN EN 60079-2. The design details of such explosion-proof rooms are known from the state of the art and therefore need not be described in detail. The energy transfer via inductive coupling also offers the advantage that the explosion protection in high-voltage area 1 is not compromised by the energy transfer.

[0053] Figure 2shows an installation example of the coating device according to the invention according to Figure 1 in a painting robot for painting vehicle body components. To avoid repetition, reference is made to the above description. Figure 1 , whereby the same reference numerals are used for corresponding details.

[0054] The painting robot initially has a proximal robot arm 11 ("Arm 1") and a distal robot arm 12 ("Arm 2"), wherein the distal robot arm 12 is pivotable relative to the proximal robot arm 11.

[0055] At the end of the distal robot arm 12, a multi-axis robot hand axis 13 is mounted, which, during operation, carries the application device, such as a rotary atomizer or a print head.

[0056] The high-voltage area 1 and the grounded area 2 are located within the distal robot arm 12, wherein the insulating section 3 extends as a partition made of an electrically insulating material (e.g. plastic) between the high-voltage area 1 and the grounded area 2 along the distal robot arm 12.

[0057] In addition, the electrical consumer 4 (e.g. sensor, sensor collection box) is also located in the high-voltage area 1 in the distal robot arm 12.

[0058] Furthermore, the drawing shows a supply line 14 which leads to the oscillator 5, not shown here.

[0059] The Figures 3A and 3B show another embodiment in a painting robot, wherein, to avoid repetition, reference is again made to the above description, the same reference numerals being used for corresponding details.

[0060] In Figure 3AIt can also be seen that a rotary atomizer 15 is mounted on the robot hand axis 13.

[0061] Furthermore, a sensor collection box 16 is arranged in the distal robot arm 12, which is connected to several sensors in the painting robot, the sensors not being shown for the sake of simplicity.

[0062] The proximal robot arm 11 contains the actual transmission system 17, which is designed as a unit that is Figure 3B is shown and will be described later.

[0063] Furthermore, Figure 3A a swivel joint 18 between the proximal robot arm 11 and the distal robot arm 12.

[0064] Furthermore, it can be seen that a high-voltage cascade 19 is arranged in the proximal robot arm 11, which serves to electrostatically charge the coating agent.

[0065] Figure 3Bshows the structure of the transmission system 17, which largely corresponds to the structure according to Figure 1 works, so to avoid repetition, the above description should be Figure 1 is referred to.

[0066] Out of Figure 3B However, it is evident that the transmission system 17 not only enables energy transmission, but also bidirectional data transmission, as indicated by the double arrow on the underside. For this purpose, the inductively transmitted signals can be modulated, for example, as is known from the prior art.

[0067] Finally, the Figures 4A and 4BVarious perspective views of a metering pump 20 with a pressure measuring module 21, wherein the metering pump 20 can be used to meter paint for a painting robot and can be located, for example, in a high-voltage area. The pressure measuring module 21 can then measure the coating agent pressure upstream of the metering pump 20 and downstream of the metering pump using pressure sensors. The pressure sensors are electrically operated and are supplied with the electrical energy required for operation by the transmission system according to the invention. Furthermore, the data query from the pressure measuring module 21 also takes place using the transmission system according to the invention. List of reference symbols:

[0068] 1High-voltage area 2Grounded area 3Insulating distance 4Electrical load 5Oscillator for controlling the transmitting coil 6Transmitting coil 7Resonant circuit of the transmitting coil 8Resonant circuit of the receiving coil 9Receiving coil 10Rectifier on the receiving coil 11Proximal robot arm of the painting robot ("Arm 1") 12Distal robot arm of the painting robot ("Arm 2") 13Robot wrist axis 14Supply line to the transmitting coil 15Rotary atomizer 16Sensor collection box 17Transmission system 18Pivoting joint 19High-voltage cascade 20Dosing pump 21Pressure measuring module

Claims

1. Coating device for coating components, in particular for painting motor vehicle body components, comprising a) a high-voltage zone (1) or an explosion-proof zone (1), b) an electrically grounded zone (2), c) at least one electrical consumer (4) arranged within the high-voltage zone (1) and / or within the explosion-proof zone (1), which requires electrical energy for operation, and d) a transmission system (5-10; 17) for wireless transmission of the electrical energy required for operation of the at least one consumer (4) to the consumer (4) and / or for transmission of data from and / or to the at least one consumer (4) by means of d1) a transmitting coil (6) and d2) a receiving coil (9) arranged in the high-voltage zone (1) or in the explosion-proof zone, characterized in e) that the transmitting coil (6) arranged in the electrically grounded zone (2) or outside the explosion-proof zone.

2. Coating device according to claim 1, characterized in, a) that the coating device comprises the electrically grounded zone (2), b) that the coating device comprises the high-voltage zone (1) which is under high voltage during operation of the coating device, in particular for electrostatic coating agent charging, c) that the consumer (4) is arranged within the high-voltage zone (1), and d) that the transmission system (5-10; 17) transmits the electrical energy required to operate the consumer (4) from the electrically grounded zone (2) into the high-voltage zone (1), in particular directly to the consumer (4).

3. Coating device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized, a) that the coating device comprises the explosion-proof zone (1), in particular in accordance with DIN EN 60079-2 or ATEX 2G, in particular as an enclosed space within the coating device, b) that the consumer (4) is arranged within the explosion-proof zone (1), and c) that the transmission system (5-10; 17) transmits the electrical energy required to operate the consumer (4) from outside the explosion-proof zone (1) into the explosion-proof zone (1), in particular directly to the consumer (4).

4. Coating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmission system (5-10; 17) operates with one of the following couplings: a) inductive coupling, b) resonant-inductive coupling.

5. Coating device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by a high-voltage proof insulating section (3) between the transmitting coil (6) and the receiving coil (9) for electrically insulating the transmitting coil (6) from the receiving coil (9).

6. Coating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmission system (5-10; 17) comprises: a) an oscillator (5) connected to the transmitting coil (6) and arranged in the electrically grounded zone (2) or outside the explosion-proof zone, and b) a rectifier (10) which is connected to the receiving coil (9) and is arranged in the high-voltage zone (1) or in the explosion-proof zone (10).

7. Coating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmission system (5-10; 17) is set up both for wireless transmission of the electrical energy required for operating the consumer (4) and for transmission of data from and / or to the consumer (4).

8. Coating device according to claim 5, characterized in that the transmitted data comprises the following data: a) firmware installed on the consumer (4), b) process data generated by at least one sensor and reflecting the current state of a process of at least a part of the coating device, c) a product identification code which identifies at least one component of the coating device, and / or d) configuration data or parameterization data.

9. Coating device according to one of the claims 5 to 8, characterized in, a) that the coating device comprises a coating robot with at least one robot arm (11, 12), in particular with a proximal robot arm (11), a distal robot arm (12) and a robot hand axis (13), and / or b) that the high-voltage zone (1) and / or the explosion-proof zone (1) is arranged at least partially in the robot arm (11, 12), and / or c) that the electrically grounded zone (2) is arranged at least partially in the robot arm (11, 12), and / or d) that the insulating section (3) separates the electrically grounded zone (2) from the high-voltage zone (1) and is arranged in the robot arm (11, 12), in particular in the proximal robot arm (11) or in the distal robot arm (12), and / or e) that the transmitting coil (6) and the receiving coil (9) are arranged in the robot arm (11, 12), in particular in the proximal robot arm (11) or in the distal robot arm (12), and / or f) that the consumer (4) is arranged in the robot arm (11, 12), in particular in the proximal robot arm or in the distal robot arm, and / or g) that the consumer (4) is a sensor collecting device (16) which collects measurement signals from a plurality of sensors, the sensor collecting device (16) preferably being arranged in the distal robot arm, and / or h) that the coating device for electrostatic coating agent charging comprises a high-voltage cascade (19), which is preferably arranged in the proximal robot arm (11).

10. Coating device according to claim 9, characterized in a) that the following components are arranged in the distal robot arm (12), which is kinematically arranged between the proximal robot arm (11) and the robot hand axis (13): a1) the transmitting coil (6), a2) the receiving coil (9), a3) the insulating section (3) and a4) the consumer (4), or b) that the following components are arranged in the proximal robot arm (11), which is kinematically arranged in front of the distal robot arm (12): b1) the transmitting coil (6), b2) the receiving coil (9), b3) the insulating section (3) and b4) the high-voltage cascade.

11. Coating device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coating device comprises one of the following manipulators to move an applicator: a) surface machine, b) surface automat, c) multi-axis gantry.

12. Coating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following consumers (4): a) sensor, in particular a1) pressure sensor, in particular on a metering pump which meters the coating agent, a2) flow sensor, a3) speed sensor, a4) force sensor, a5) acceleration sensor, a6) vibration sensor, a7) temperature sensor, b) electrically actuated valve, in particular shaping air valve, coating agent valve, drive air valve, brake air valve, c) transmitter for sending data, and / or d) receiver for receiving data.