Composite pressure sensor for aqueous canister systems

Abstract

We provide a composite pressure sensor for aqueous canister systems. [Solution] A system for distributing paint from a painting robot is provided. The system includes a common line, a paint manifold including a paint source and a plurality of valves coupled to the common line, a solvent / air manifold including a solvent source or air source and a plurality of valves coupled to the common line, and a vacuum manifold including a plurality of valves coupled to the common line and a vacuum generator. A composite pressure sensor is located in the common line and measures or detects one or more of the following at different points in time during the operation of the system: paint pressure in the common line, solvent pressure in the common line, air pressure in the common line, vacuum in the common line, and paint / solvent / air leaks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross-Reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 763453, entitled "Composite Pressure Sensor for Aqueous Canister Systems", filed on February 26, 2025.

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to fluid distribution systems, and in particular to a paint distribution system including a composite pressure sensor for measuring the pressures of air, paint, solvent and vacuum at different time points during operation of the system.

Background Art

[0003] A typical painting station for painting the outer surface of vehicle bodies in both continuous conveyor station systems and stationary station systems comprises a spray booth, a plurality of painting robots, and opener / closer robots arranged around the spray booth. These robots can be mounted on the floor, walls, ceiling, or side rails. Painting robots typically include a spray gun or rotary applicator for directing sprayed paint onto the vehicle body. The spray booth includes high-performance environmental and air handling equipment that processes and exhausts vapor-laden air from the spray booth and prevents paint vapors from entering occupied work passages.

[0004] Paint distribution systems are often used in relation to painting robots, including structures of valves, chambers, hoses, passages, devices, and other components that guide paint from multiple paint sources to an applicator, guide solvent from one or more solvent sources through components for cleaning the distribution system, guide air from an air source through components for drying the distribution system, and provide a vacuum for exhausting passages. It may be desirable to monitor the solvent pressure and provide a warning if there is a failure in the solvent supply system, such as low or no solvent pressure, which may affect the effectiveness of color change and electrostatic separation. It may also be desirable to monitor the air pressure and provide a warning if there is a failure in the air supply system, such as low or no air pressure, which may affect the effectiveness of color change and electrostatic separation. It may also be desirable to monitor the paint pressure and provide a warning if there is a failure in the paint supply system, such as low or no paint pressure, which may affect flow accuracy, spray pattern, and the effectiveness of color change. It may also be desirable to monitor the vacuum level to ensure that passages are properly exhausted. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] It is known in the art to use pressure sensors to measure vacuum pressure in paint distribution systems. However, known pressure sensors have many drawbacks. These drawbacks include the inability of the sensor to efficiently monitor the positive pressure of liquid or air in the passages that transport paint, solvent, and air to the paint distribution device, depending on the sensor's location. Furthermore, the sensor's location prevents it from monitoring unexpected pressure from leaking color supply valves, solvent supply valves, or air supply valves. Also, the sensor's location prevents it from monitoring to slowly open a malfunctioning vacuum valve. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The following description discloses and describes a system for distributing paint from a painting robot. The system includes a common line, a paint manifold including a paint source and several valves connected to the common line, a solvent / air manifold including a solvent source or air source and several valves connected to the common line, and a vacuum manifold including several valves connected to the common line and a vacuum generator. A composite pressure sensor is located in the common line and measures or detects one or more of the following at different points in time during the operation of the system: paint pressure in the common line, solvent pressure in the common line, air pressure in the common line, vacuum in the common line, and paint / solvent / air leaks. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] Further features of this disclosure will become apparent from the following description and the attached claims, in conjunction with the attached drawings.

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an isometric view of a painting robot.

[0009] [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram of a paint distribution system that can be used with the painting robot shown in Figure 1.

[0010] [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram of a paint distribution system that is the same as the paint distribution system shown in Figure 2, but without an insulating manifold.

[0011] [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram illustrating part of a paint distribution system, showing a paint manifold positioned away from the paint applicator.

[0012] [Figure 5] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a part of the paint distribution system, illustrating the paint manifold that is coupled to the paint applicator. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The following description of embodiments of the paint distribution system of this disclosure, including a composite pressure sensor for measuring the pressures of air, paint, solvent, and vacuum during system operation, is essentially illustrative and is not intended to limit the invention or its applications or uses in any way. For example, the description herein is specific to a paint distribution system for a painting robot, but the paint distribution system may have applications for distributing other coating agents or fluids by other devices for other applications.

[0014] Figure 1 is an isometric view of a painting robot 10 mounted on a fixed base mounting stand 12, where the robot 10 is intended to represent any painting robot suitable for the purposes described herein. The turret or robot base 14 is rotatably mounted on the mounting stand 12. The inner arm 18 is rotatably coupled to the base 14 by a joint 20, the outer arm 22 is rotatably coupled to the inner arm 18 by a joint 24, and the wrist member 26 is rotatably coupled to the outer arm 22 by a joint 28. The applicator 30 is fixedly mounted to the wrist member 26 at an angle optimized for painting applications, and paint spray 32 is shown being emitted from the applicator 30. The robot controller 34 is intended to represent all the necessary computers, devices, software, etc., for controlling the robot 10.

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a paint distribution system 50 that can be used with the painting robot 10 shown in Figure 1. While the description herein is specific to, for example, a painting robot for painting a car body, it should be noted that the paint distribution system 50 may also have applications for distributing other coatings or fluids by other devices for other applications. The system 50 includes a distribution subsystem 52 and an applicator 30, such as a rotary sprayer, applicator 54, having a paint enable valve 48 and a trigger valve 58 connected by a paint distribution line 56. The distribution subsystem 52 is shown mounted on the outer arm 22 of the robot 10, but the subsystem 52 may be mounted on other parts of the robot 10, including the inner arm 18. Various paint sources, solvent sources, and air sources, described later, are located elsewhere and piped to the subsystem 52. The applicator 54 is part of the end effector of the robot 10 and is located within the spray booth.

[0016] The distribution subsystem 52 includes a paint manifold 60 having multiple color valves 62 that are selectively opened to obtain paint from multiple paint sources 64 and provide paint to a central line 68. The distribution subsystem 52 also includes a solvent / air manifold 78 having a solvent valve 70 that is selectively opened to provide solvent from a solvent source 72 to the central line 68. The solvent / air manifold 78 also includes an air valve 74 that is selectively opened to provide air from an air source 84 to the central line 68 through valve 76 or to the wash line 80 through valve 82. The air source 84 also provides air to the air line 90. The solvent / air manifold 78 also includes a solvent valve 92 that is selectively opened to provide solvent from a solvent source 96 to the wash line 80 through valve 82 or to the central line 68 through valve 76. The wash line 80 is coupled to valve 86 and bell valve 88 in the applicator 54. The distribution subsystem 52 also includes a vacuum manifold 98 having a venturi vacuum generator 100 which is coupled to a valve 104 that is also coupled to the vacuum exhaust section 102 and the central line 68. Valve 106 is coupled to the vacuum generator 100 and the air line 90.

[0017] The distribution subsystem 52 also includes a composite pressure sensor 110 located on the central line 68. In this non-limiting embodiment, the pressure sensor 110 is shown on the solvent / air manifold 78, but the pressure sensor 110 may be located at any suitable position along the central line 68, or at other positions, and depending on which fluid is supplied to or not supplied to the line 68 at a given time, the sensor 110 enables measuring the pressure of the paint supply, solvent supply, compressed air supply, and vacuum level. As will be described in detail below, the sensor 110 can read positive and negative pressure (vacuum) and report the pressure measurements to the robot controller 34, and the software uses the pressure measurements for system warnings and equipment diagnostics.

[0018] The distribution subsystem 52 further includes a canister manifold 120 to which a paint canister 122 is mounted, the canister 122 including a chamber 124. The canister 122 also includes a drive piston 126 that defines a paint volume section 128 in the chamber 124, which holds a predetermined amount of paint when paint is loaded into the canister 122. The drive piston 126 may be driven by a motor, pneumatics, fluid, etc. A filling line 130 allows the paint volume section 128 to be filled with paint through a filling valve 132, and a distribution line 134 allows paint to be distributed from the paint volume section 128 through a paint outlet valve 136 to the paint distribution line 56 by the movement of the piston 126.

[0019] The paint canister 122 and the applicator 54 are at high voltage, and the manifolds 60 and 78 are grounded by the fluid supply during painting operations. Accordingly, the paint canister 122 must be electrically insulated from the manifolds 60 and 78 to prevent a ground fault. Accordingly, the distribution subsystem 52 includes an insulating manifold 140 having a valve 142 and a valve 144, wherein the valve 144 is coupled to the air line 90. In one embodiment, an insulating line 146 is coupled to the valve 142 and a central line 68, and an insulating line 148 is coupled to the valve 142 and a valve 132.

[0020] In another embodiment, the central line 68 is directly coupled to the canister manifold 120 via a single insulating line. This embodiment is described in Figure 3, which shows a schematic diagram of a paint distribution system 170 including an insulating line 172, and elements similar to those of the paint distribution system 50 are identified by the same reference numerals.

[0021] A dump insulating line 150 is coupled to the canister manifold 120 and a dump manifold 152 to allow paint, solvent, and air to be dumped from the manifold 120 through dump valves 154 and 156. The dump manifold 152 directs the paint, solvent, or air to a desired container 160 via an output line 158.

[0022] The combined pressure sensor 110 monitors the pressure in lines 56, 68, 146, and 148, as well as all passages fluidly connected to lines 56, 68, 146, and 148, the canister manifold 120, and the passages of the paint canister 122. Each of these components may contain paint, solvent, air, or vacuum at different times during the operating cycle of the distribution subsystem 52. For example, before filling the canister 122, lines 56, 68, 128, 134, 146, 148, and 130 may be evacuated by blowing compressed air from line 90, through valve 106, through the venturi vacuum generator 100, and through exhaust section 102, and air may be drawn in from the various passages when valve 104 is opened and the passages are exposed to vacuum. Other valves may also need to be opened to fluidly connect different parts of the system. When this operation occurs, the combined pressure sensor 110 will be exposed to vacuum. For this operation, the sensor 110 can report the vacuum level, and the controller 34 can issue a warning or alarm if the vacuum pressure is insufficient for the process for any reason.

[0023] In another example, during a color change, canister 122, as well as lines 56, 68, 146, 148, 130, and 134, may be filled with paint from one of the paint supply valves 62. For this operation, a composite pressure sensor 110 can measure and report the paint pressure supplied by the paint valves 62, and the controller 34 can issue a warning or alarm if the paint pressure value is abnormal. If the sensor 110 detects positive pressure when the central line 68 should be empty, it can indicate that one of the valves 62, 70, 74, 76, 92, or 144 may be leaking. Furthermore, the software can collect pressure values ​​from specific color valves and provide information for statistical process control of paint pressure and reporting of statistical anomalies over time.

[0024] In another example, during the part of the color changing operation when solvent is supplied through valve 70 or valve 92, the composite pressure sensor 110 is attached thereto and can measure and report the pressure of the solvent supplied to various lines used for guiding the solvent, and the controller 34 can issue a warning or an alarm when the measured pressure value is abnormal.

[0025] Furthermore, similar to the solvent, air supplied through the air valve 74 may be monitored by the composite pressure sensor 110 in various lines that receive air during a certain period of time in the color changing process. The controller 34 can issue a warning or an alarm when the measured pressure value is abnormal. Accordingly, the sensor 110 can measure or detect one or more of coating pressure in the central line 68, solvent pressure in the central line 68, air pressure in the central line 68, vacuum in the central line 68, and coating / solvent / air leakage at different time points during operation of the subsystem 52.

[0026] In an alternative embodiment, the coating manifold 60 may be detached from the coating distribution subsystem 52 and may be arranged remotely from the robot 10. The remaining part of the coating distribution subsystem 52 described above may still be configured in the outer arm 22 of the robot 10. Figures 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of a part of a coating distribution system 170 illustrating this embodiment. The system 170 includes a coating applicator 172 of the type described above, and various valves in the applicator 172 for controlling the flow of coating, solvent and air are not shown. The system 170 further includes a coating manifold 174 shown arranged remotely from the applicator 172 in Figure 4. The coating manifold 174 is similar to the coating manifold 60, wherein valve 176 represents the plurality of color valves 62, and coating source 178 represents the plurality of coating sources 64. The coating manifold 174 is arranged close to the robot 10 at any suitable position. The robot 10 is controlled to move the applicator 172 to the coating manifold 174 to obtain coating for distribution.

[0027] The paint manifold 174 includes a docking device 180, and the applicator 172 includes a docking port 182 that allows the paint manifold 174 to be coupled to the applicator 172, as shown in Figure 5. The docking device 180 may be any device suitable for the purposes described herein, and many types of devices and structures are readily apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the docking device 180 may include various components such as snap fittings, positioning pins, hoses, pneumatic devices, clamps, suction devices, magnets, etc. When the paint manifold 174 is coupled to the applicator 172, the paint lines 184 in the paint manifold 174 are coupled to various valves and lines (not shown) in the applicator 172, allowing the paint lines 184 to be coupled to a paint canister (not shown) similar to the paint canister 122 for dispensing paint from the applicator 172. Furthermore, when the paint manifold 174 is coupled to the applicator 172, the paint line 184 is positioned to fluidly communicate with a common line 186 that extends outward through the applicator 172. The common line 186 is coupled to the solvent manifold 78 and the air manifold 98 and represents the aforementioned central line 68, which includes the composite sensor 110. Thus, the sensor 110 can also measure or detect one or more of the following at different points in time during the operation of the system 170: paint pressure in the common line 186, solvent pressure in the common line 186, air pressure in the common line 186, vacuum in the common line 186, and paint / solvent / air leaks.

[0028] The foregoing description merely discloses and describes exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from such description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims that various changes, modifications, and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A system for distributing paint, wherein the system is Common line, A paint manifold including a paint source and a plurality of valves connected to the common line, A solvent / air manifold including a solvent source or air source and a plurality of valves connected to the common line, A vacuum manifold including a plurality of valves and a vacuum generator connected to the aforementioned common line, A composite pressure sensor is positioned in the common line and measures or detects one or more of the following at different points in time during the operation of the system: paint pressure in the common line, solvent pressure in the common line, air pressure in the common line, vacuum in the common line, and paint / solvent / air leaks. A system equipped with these features.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor measures air pressure, solvent pressure, vacuum, and paint / solvent / air leakage.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum and paint pressure.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum and paint / solvent / air leakage.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum, air pressure, and solvent pressure.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is part of a painting robot.

7. A system for distributing paint, wherein the system is Common line and A paint manifold including a plurality of valves connected to a paint source, the paint manifold being detachably connected to the common line, A solvent / air manifold including a solvent source or air source and a plurality of valves connected to the common line, A vacuum manifold including a plurality of valves and a vacuum generator connected to the aforementioned common line, A composite pressure sensor is positioned in the common line and measures or detects one or more of the following at different points in time during the operation of the system: paint pressure in the common line, solvent pressure in the common line, air pressure in the common line, vacuum in the common line, and paint / solvent / air leaks. A system equipped with these features.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the pressure sensor measures air pressure, solvent pressure, vacuum, and paint / solvent / air leakage.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum and paint pressure.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum and paint / solvent / air leakage.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum, air pressure, and solvent pressure.

12. The system according to claim 7, wherein the system is part of a painting robot.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the painting robot includes a paint applicator, and the paint manifold is detachably coupled to the applicator.

14. A robot assembly including a painting robot and a paint distribution system, wherein the paint distribution system is Common line and A paint manifold comprising a plurality of valves connected to a paint source, the paint manifold being statically or detachably connected to the common line, A solvent / air manifold including a solvent source or air source and a plurality of valves connected to the common line, A vacuum manifold including a plurality of valves and a vacuum generator connected to the aforementioned common line, A canister manifold containing multiple valves, A fluid canister coupled to the canister manifold and having a chamber inside, wherein the plurality of valves in the canister manifold are coupled to the common line to allow paint, solvent, air, and vacuum to be supplied to the chamber, A composite pressure sensor is positioned in the common line and measures or detects one or more of the following at different points in time during the operation of the distribution system: paint pressure in the common line, solvent pressure in the common line, air pressure in the common line, vacuum in the common line, and paint / solvent / air leaks. A robot assembly equipped with the necessary components.

15. The robot assembly according to claim 14, wherein the pressure sensor measures air pressure, solvent pressure, vacuum, and paint / solvent / air leakage.

16. The robot assembly according to claim 14, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum and paint pressure.

17. The robot assembly according to claim 14, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum and paint / solvent / air leakage.

18. The robot assembly according to claim 14, wherein the pressure sensor measures vacuum, air pressure, and solvent pressure.

19. The robot assembly according to claim 14, wherein the painting robot includes a paint applicator, and the paint manifold is detachably coupled to the applicator.

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