Mounting device for a sprayer, spray device with such a mounting device and method for manufacturing such a mounting device

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a sprayer holder, as well as to a spraying device comprising such a holder and a method of manufacturing such a holder.

[0002] It is known to attach a sprayer to a robot within a spraying device using a support. This support is usually formed by an assembly of machined parts. Each of these parts has a different function. Indeed, the support must allow the connection between the sprayer and the robot. In addition, it must allow the guidance of fluid delivery pipes, the guidance and clamping of air delivery pipes and support a high-voltage unit.

[0003] Documents FR 2 644 322 A1 and CN 108 372 057 A describe supports for sprayers.

[0004] The manufacturing and assembly of various parts involves a significant cost, as well as a relatively long and complex assembly operation.

[0005] This is the drawback that the invention aims to remedy by proposing a cheap and easy-to-assemble sprayer support.

[0006] For this purpose, the invention relates to a sprayer holder comprising a housing for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage socket, a guide element for at least one coating product delivery hose, a retaining element for air hoses, a first element for attachment to a robot and a second element for attachment to a sprayer. According to the invention, the housing, the guide element, the retaining element, the first fastening element and the second fastening element are in one piece.

[0007] Thanks to the invention, the single-piece manufacturing of the support makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs and facilitate the assembly of the part with a robot and a sprayer.

[0008] According to advantageous but non-mandatory characteristics of the invention, such a support may comprise one or more of the following characteristics, taken in any technically admissible combination: The bracket is shaped using an additive manufacturing process. The bracket is made of a synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone, or polyethylene terephthalate. The bracket also includes a housing for a low-voltage unit, also integral with the rest of the bracket. The first fastening element, the retaining element, and the second fastening element are aligned, in that order, along an axis of the bracket. The housing for the high-voltage unit or socket is a cylinder of revolution aligned with the axis of the bracket.The housing for the high voltage unit or socket is located between the first fixing element and the second fixing element, the guide element is centered on the axis of the support, the guide element has an inner radius of a value greater than a value of the outer radius of the housing for the high voltage unit or socket and, preferably, the difference between the value of the inner radius of the guide element and the value of the outer radius of the housing of the high voltage unit is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm, preferably of the order of 0.5 mm. The support includes air hose identification marks.

[0009] According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a spraying device comprising a sprayer, a robot, and a sprayer holder, the sprayer being connected to the robot by the sprayer holder. According to the invention, the sprayer holder is as described above.

[0010] This device induces the same advantages as those mentioned regarding the support.

[0011] According to advantageous but non-mandatory characteristics of the invention, such a device may comprise air pipes held in place by the retaining element and at least one coating product delivery pipe guided by the guiding element.

[0012] According to yet another aspect, the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a support as mentioned above, characterized in that it is a method of additive manufacturing by multi-jet fusion.

[0013] The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the light of the following description of an embodiment of a sprayer support and of a spraying device in accordance with its principle, given solely by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which: [ Fig 1 ] there figure 1 is a perspective view from below of a spraying device according to the invention comprising a sprayer holder, also according to the invention; [ Fig 2 ] there figure 2 is a rear view of the support of the figure 1 ; [ Fig 3 ] there figure 3 is a top view of the support of the figures 1 And 2 ; And [ Fig 4 ] there figure 4 is a section along plan IV at the figure 1 .

[0014] A spraying device 1 is partially shown in the figure 1 . This device 1 comprises a support 2, a robot 3 which may, for example, be a reciprocating robot, as well as a sprayer 4 provided with at least one nozzle 42 for spraying a fluid. For greater clarity, only a part of the robot 3 is shown, namely the end of a manipulation arm. The robot 3 and the sprayer 4 are shown transparent and dotted on the figure 1 and are not shown in the other figures.

[0015] The support 2 defines a longitudinal axis X, on which the robot 3 and the sprayer 4 are aligned.

[0016] The support 2 comprises, at one of its ends, called distal, an element 5 for fixing to the robot 3. As better visible on the figure 2 , this fixing element 5 has a horseshoe shape, centered on the X axis, which comprises holes 52 intended to receive screws 32 for fixing to the robot 3, represented by axis lines at the figure 1 . In the example of the figures, the fixing element 5 comprises six holes 52. The fixing element 5 also comprises a support surface 54 used to position the support 2 on the robot 3.

[0017] At its proximal end, opposite the distal end, the support 2 comprises an element 6 for connection to the sprayer 4. The fixing element 6 comprises four feet 62, each of these feet being provided with an orifice 64 for the passage of a screw for fixing the sprayer 4 to the support 2. The feet 62 are connected, by bridges 68, to a ring 66 centered on the axis X, the feet 62 being regularly distributed around a circle centered on the axis X and whose diameter is greater than the diameter of the ring 66. In addition, two of the feet 62, directed towards the bottom of the support 2, are connected by an arc 69 whose function is to precisely position a laying plane not shown in the figures. The laying plane belongs to the device 1 and maintains the connections intended to convey the fluid and air to the sprayer 4.

[0018] The elements 5 and 6 of the support 2 are connected by a frame 7 which forms a base of the support 2. The frame 7 comprises four uprights 72, each of the uprights 72 starting from one of the feet 62 to join the fixing element 5. The uprights 72 are substantially rectilinear and parallel to the axis X.

[0019] Thus, thanks to elements 5, 6 and 7, support 2 allows a connection to be made between robot 3 and sprayer 4.

[0020] The ring 66 is extended along the axis X, in the direction of the fixing element 5, by a housing 8 for receiving a high-voltage unit not shown. This housing 8 is a hollow cylinder, in the example with a circular base, one of the ends of which is formed by the ring 66 and the other end 82 is located in the plane of the bearing surface 54. The housing 8 is better visible on the figure 3 .

[0021] As visible on the figure 1 , a housing 10 is provided for a low voltage unit, also not shown. This housing 10 is fixed under the housing 8 and comprises a space 102, orthogonal to the axis X, as well as an extension 104 parallel to the axis X. The space 102 and the extension 104 form a single volume for receiving the low voltage unit, this volume having a T shape seen from below, in a direction radial to the axis X. At the end of the extension 104, a hole 106 allows the passage of a cable for connecting the low voltage unit to the high voltage unit.

[0022] In operation, the high voltage unit is placed in the housing 8. This high voltage unit is powered by a low voltage current supplied by the low voltage unit. The high voltage unit is usually composed of diodes for raising the voltage of the current supplied by the low voltage unit. The low voltage unit is also used to connect the assembly formed by the high voltage unit and the low voltage unit to a ground. To connect the high voltage unit and the low voltage unit, in general, the high voltage unit is provided with a female socket compatible with a male socket of a connector belonging to the low voltage unit. This device, formed by the low and high voltage units, makes it possible to supply the sprayer 4 with high voltage current in order to charge particles of paint to be sprayed emerging from the nozzle 42, within the framework of an application of coating product by electrostatic means.

[0023] The coating product to be applied by means of the sprayer is supplied to the sprayer 4 by two delivery pipes 11, represented by center lines on the figure 1 , guided by a guide element 12. The fluid may, for example, be a coating product such as a paint. The guide element 12 describes a portion of cylinder centered on the axis X and partly surrounding the housing 8. The guide element 12 is open on the underside of the support 2. In practice, the guide element 12 is open at an angle of between 20° and 90° around the axis X. Preferably, this angle is 65°. The guide element 12 comprises recesses 122, provided to hold the pipes 11, preferably arranged in a staggered pattern on the guide element 12. By "in a staggered pattern" is meant that the two pipes are arranged alternately in the recesses 122, along the length of the guide element. In the example of the figures, the guide element 12 comprises six hollows 122. Guiding the routing pipes 11 in these hollows 122 makes it possible to electrically isolate the different pipes from each other so that they do not come into contact.Indeed, such contact could locally create an arc due to a potential difference between two fluids each having their own resistivity and contained in the two pipes.

[0024] Since the product contained in the conveying pipes 11 is brought to high voltage near a head of the sprayer 4 and grounded near the robot 3, it is necessary to have a sufficient length of conveying pipes 11 in order to avoid any electrical creeping. Winding the pipes 11 around the guide element 12 makes it possible to increase the length of the conveying pipes 11 while limiting the overall size of the support 2. The length of the conveying pipes 11 depends on the resistivity of the fluids conveyed by these pipes 11 and the desired voltage. For example, for a fluid having a resistivity of 3 MOhm.cm and a voltage of 100kV, it is necessary to have conveying pipes 11 of 850 mm. For equal voltage, the greater the resistivity of the fluid used, the shorter the conveying pipes 11 must be.

[0025] In addition, the winding of the pipes 11 around the guide element 12 makes it possible to prevent metal flakes contained in certain fluids from being oriented in the direction of the electric field generated by the high-voltage unit. This avoids generating an intrinsic short circuit in the fluid.

[0026] In practice, in order for the length of the conveying pipes 11 to be sufficient and for the space requirement of the support 2 to be optimized, the guide element 12 has an internal diameter greater than the external diameter of the housing 8. In practice, the distance d1 separating the housing 8 and the guide element 12 is equal to the difference between a value of the internal radius R12 of the guide element 12 and a value of the external radius R8 of the housing 8. This distance d1 is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm. Preferably, this distance d1 is 0.5 mm. Thus, a space 14 of radial thickness d1 is formed between the guide element 12 and the housing 8. This space 14 is used to pass air pipes 13 from the robot 3 to the sprayer 4. These air pipes 13, represented by center lines on the figure 1 , are used to supply an air skirt for shaping the jet of coating product exiting the nozzle 42 of the sprayer 4, to supply valves of the sprayer 4 and, possibly, to supply and / or brake a turbine of the sprayer 4.

[0027] In order to hold the air hoses 13 in place, a retaining element 16 is arranged on the outside of the housing 8, between the fixing element 5 and the guide element 12. The retaining element 16 describes a portion of a circle around the housing 8. This portion of the circle is delimited by the housing 10 and comprises a housing 162 for each air hose 13. In the example of the figures, the guide element comprises fifteen housings 162 distributed around the axis X to accommodate fifteen air hoses, only some of these housings being visible in the figures 1 à 3 .

[0028] In practice, the number of housings 162 is not necessarily equal to fifteen. For example, the guide element 12 may comprise up to twenty-five housings 162 or, on the contrary, less than ten such housings. In order to identify the air pipes 13, identification marks 18 are engraved on the outside of the fixing element 5. Thus, the pipes 13 are each fixed in a housing 162, and then run along the housing 8, being easily identifiable. They are therefore parallel to the axis X and each air pipe passes through the fixing element 5, under one of the identification marks 18. The shape of the guide element 16 makes it possible to quickly fix the air pipes before their connection to the sprayer 4, by clipping them to the guide element 16.

[0029] To have a compact support 2, it is shaped using an additive manufacturing process. Thus, the housings 8 and 10, the connecting elements 5 and 6 and the support and retaining elements 12 and 16 are monobloc. In other words, the support 2 is manufactured from a single piece of material.

[0030] Unlike an assembly of different parts, the additive manufacturing process, which may, for example, be a multi-jet fusion manufacturing process (MJF), makes it possible to optimize the size of the support 2, in particular by making it possible to place the retaining element 16 between the guide element 12 and the fixing element 5. The multi-jet fusion manufacturing process consists of applying, for each layer of the part to be created, a binder and a detailing agent, the function of which is to smooth a surface, on a surface to be fused of a powder. Then, a liquid agent is deposited in order to fuse the desired particles. Finally, each layer of material is heated in order to form the part.

[0031] In addition, the identification marks 18 are integrated directly into the support 2 during its manufacture. There is therefore no need to perform an additional step to engrave them into the part. This saves additional time during the manufacture of the support 2, which therefore has a reduced cost.

[0032] In order to keep the manufacturing cost low, while having good mechanical properties, the support 2 is made of synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12. Indeed, the combined use of additive manufacturing with polyamide 12 makes it possible to have a support 2 that is light and resistant to the solvents used in a coating product projection installation.

[0033] Alternatively, the support 2 may be made, for example, of polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone or polyethylene terephthalate.

[0034] According to another variant, the fixing element 5 for connection to the sprayer comprises a different number of holes 52, for example 3 or 10.

[0035] Alternatively, the spraying device comprises a different number of pipes 11 for conveying coating product to the sprayer 4, for example one or 3. In general, the number of conveying pipes 11 varies between 1 and 4. Each conveying pipe 11 can also be used to circulate a rinsing product or a solvent therein.

[0036] Alternatively, the number of legs 62 and the number of uprights 72 may vary. For example, the support may include five legs 62 and five uprights 72 or three legs 62 and six uprights 72.

[0037] Alternatively, the high-voltage unit is replaced by a high-voltage socket, supplied directly with high-voltage current. In this case, instead of the low-voltage unit, a connector is used to connect the high-voltage unit to ground.

[0038] Alternatively, the guide element 12 may comprise a different number of recesses 122, for example four or eight.

[0039] The embodiment and variants mentioned above can be combined with each other to generate new embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A sprayer support (2) comprising a housing (8) for a high-voltage unit or plug, a guiding member (12) for at least one coating product hose (11), a retention member (16) for air hoses (13), a first fastening member (5) for fastening to a robot (3), a second fastening member (6) for fastening to a sprayer (4), characterized in that the housing (8), the guiding member (12), the retention member (16), the first fastening member (5), and the second fastening member (6) are formed from a single part.

2. A support (2) according to the previous claim, characterized in that it is manufactured from a synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone, or polyethylene terephthalate.

3. A support (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a housing (10) for a low-voltage unit, which is also formed of the same part as the rest of the support.

4. A support (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first fastening member (5), the retention member (16), and the second fastening member (6) are aligned in that order along an axis (X) of the support.

5. A support (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or plug is a cylinder aligned with the axis (X) of the support.

6. A support (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, 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), in that the guiding member (12) is centered on the axis (X) of the support, in that the guiding member has an inner radius (R12) with a value greater than a value of the outer radius (R8) of the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or plug, and in that preferably, the difference (d1) between the value of the inner radius of the guiding member and the value of 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.

7. A support (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises marks (18) for identifying the air hoses (13).

8. A spraying device (1) comprising a sprayer (4), a robot (3), and a sprayer support (2), the sprayer being connected to the robot by the sprayer support, characterized in that the sprayer support (2) is according to one of the preceding claims.

9. A spraying device (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises air hoses (13) held in place by the retention member (16) and at least one coating product hose (11) guided by the guiding member (12).

10. A method for manufacturing a support (2) according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it is a multijet fusion additive manufacturing method.