Coating device and coating method

Abstract

A conveyance unit (2) conveys a terminal-equipped electric wire (10). A coating unit (5) applies a coating agent (101) to the terminal-equipped electric wire (10) conveyed by the conveyance unit (2). An irradiation unit (6) is provided on the downstream side (left side) of the coating unit (5) in the conveyance direction and emits UV light that cures the coating agent (101) with which the terminal-equipped electric wire (10) conveyed by the conveyance unit (2) is coated. The coating unit (5) has a discharge unit (51) that discharges the coating agent (101) and a preliminary irradiation unit (52) that preliminarily emits UV light which cures the coating agent (101). The application of the coating agent (101) and preliminary irradiation with UV light can both be performed on the terminal-equipped electric wire (10) conveyed by the coating unit (5).

Description

Coating device and coating method

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method.

[0002] Electric wires with terminals have been proposed for use in communication between devices mounted on vehicles and for power supply, etc. Generally, this type of electric wire with terminals has a structure in which terminals are crimped to both ends of the electric wire, and both terminals are accommodated in terminal accommodating chambers of corresponding connector housings. Each connector is then connected to a mating connector of the corresponding device, etc. Furthermore, for example, in one conventional electric wire with terminals, the bundle of wires exposed from the end of the electric wire is covered with an anticorrosive agent (coating agent) to prevent corrosion at the crimped joint between the electric wire and the terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-129067

[0004] The above-mentioned coating agent is applied to the electric wire with terminals in a liquid state and then cured by irradiating it with UV light. In the manufacturing process of the electric wire with terminals, the electric wire with terminals is transported by a conveying unit from an application unit that applies the coating agent to an irradiation unit that irradiates it with UV light, in that order. Therefore, if there is a delay in the transportation of the electric wire with terminals by the conveying unit for some reason, the time from the application of the coating agent to the irradiation with UV light may become long, causing the coating agent to drip and resulting in a defective electric wire with terminals.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a coating device and a coating method that can reduce dripping of coating material even when a delay occurs in the conveying section.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the coating device according to the present invention has the following features: A coating device comprising: a transport unit that transports a workpiece, a coating unit that applies a coating agent to the workpiece transported by the transport unit, and an irradiation unit that is provided downstream of the coating unit in the transport direction and that irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent applied to the workpiece transported by the transport unit, wherein the coating unit has a discharge unit that discharges the coating agent and a pre-irradiation unit that pre-irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent, and the coating device is capable of both applying the coating agent and pre-irradiating the curing light to the workpiece transported to the coating unit.

[0007] Furthermore, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the coating method according to the present invention is characterized as follows: A coating method using an application unit that applies a coating agent to a workpiece and an irradiation unit that irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent, wherein, after the coating agent is applied to the workpiece using the application unit, if the workpiece cannot be transported toward the irradiation unit within a predetermined time, the curing light is pre-irradiated onto the workpiece using a pre-irradiation unit provided in the application unit, and if the workpiece can be transported toward the irradiation unit within the predetermined time, the pre-irradiation is not performed.

[0008] The coating device and coating method according to the present invention have the advantage that dripping of the coating material can be reduced even when a delay occurs in the conveying section.

[0009] The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the coating device of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the conveying unit shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of the conveying unit shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the coating unit shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of up-down, left-right, and front-rear cylinders that move the mounting base shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the coating device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a rear view showing how a discharge unit included in the coating unit shown in Fig. 1 applies a coating agent to an electric wire with terminals. Fig. 8 is a rear view showing how a pre-irradiation unit included in the coating unit shown in Fig. 1 pre-irradiates an electric wire with terminals.

[0011] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] For the sake of convenience, the following definitions are used for the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "upper," and "lower" as shown in Figures 1 to 12. The "front-rear direction," "left-right direction," and "up-down direction" are perpendicular to one another. The "left-right direction" corresponds to the "transport direction" of the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a coating apparatus 1 of the present invention. The coating apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus that coats an end of a terminal-attached electric wire 10 (workpiece) with a coating material 101 made of a UV-curable resin. The terminal-attached electric wire 10 includes an electric wire 102 and a terminal 103 attached to the end of the electric wire 102. The electric wire 102 has a coating 102A stripped from the end to expose a wire bundle 102B. The terminal 103 is crimped to the coating 102A and the wire bundle 102B exposed at the end. The coating apparatus 1 covers the wire bundle 102B exposed from the end of the electric wire 102 with the coating material 101, thereby preventing corrosion at the crimped joint between the wire bundle 102B and the terminal 103.

[0014] The coating device 1 includes a conveying unit 2, an electric wire supplying unit 3 that supplies terminal-attached electric wires 10 to the conveying unit 2, an imaging unit 4 that images the terminal-attached electric wires 10 conveyed by the conveying unit 2, an application unit 5 that applies coating agent 101 to the ends of the terminal-attached electric wires 10 conveyed by the conveying unit 2, a UV irradiation unit 6 (irradiation unit) that irradiates the applied coating agent 101 with UV light (curing light), and a control unit 7 that controls these units 3 to 6.

[0015] The above-described electric wire supply unit 3, imaging unit 4, coating unit 5, and UV irradiation unit 6 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, that is, from right to left, the electric wire supply unit 3, imaging unit 4, coating unit 5, and UV irradiation unit 6 are arranged in this order.

[0016] First, the configuration of the conveying unit 2 will be described. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the conveying unit 2 of this embodiment has four rear electric wire chucks 21 (holding units) and four front electric wire chucks 22. The four rear electric wire chucks 21 are arranged side by side at equal intervals in the left-right direction. The four rear electric wire chucks 21 are provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction between a first position and a second position.

[0017] 2 and 3 , at the first position, the four rear electric wire chucks 21 face the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction. At the second position, the rightmost rear electric wire chuck 21 faces the imaging unit 4 in the front-rear direction, the second rear electric wire chuck 21 from the left faces the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction, and the leftmost rear electric wire chuck 21 is located to the left of the UV irradiation unit 6.

[0018] 3, the four front electric wire chucks 22 are arranged further forward in the front-rear direction than the four rear electric wire chucks 21 (on the side of the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6). The four front electric wire chucks 22 are arranged side by side at equal intervals in the left-right direction and face the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction. The four front electric wire chucks 22 do not move in the left-right direction.

[0019] Next, the configurations of the rear electric wire chuck 21 and the front electric wire chuck 22 will be described. The four rear electric wire chucks 21 have the same configuration. Each rear electric wire chuck 21 has a cubic main body 23 and a pair of chucks 24, 24 that are attached to the main body 23 so as to be able to open and close freely and that clamp and hold the terminal-attached electric wire 10 from the left and right directions.

[0020] The front wire chucks 22 have the same configuration as the rear wire chucks 21, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here. The main bodies 23 of the four rear wire chucks 21 are attached to a cylinder (not shown) that moves in the left-right direction.

[0021] The conveying operation of the conveying unit 2 configured as described above will be described. The rightmost rear electric wire chuck 21 and front electric wire chuck 22 hold the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 (hold it in the correct position) by the electric wire supplying unit 3. Next, the front electric wire chuck 22 is opened and moved from the first position to the second position. This causes the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 to be conveyed to the imaging unit 4, where it can be held by the second front electric wire chuck 22 from the right, which is arranged opposite the imaging unit 4. Thereafter, the rear electric wire chuck 21 is opened and moved back from the second position to the first position, where it can hold the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 by the second rear electric wire chuck 21 from the right. By repeating this process, the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 can be conveyed to the electric wire supplying unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in that order.

[0022] The wire supply unit 3 has a work setting jig (not shown). When an operator inserts an end of the terminal-fitted wire 10 into the work setting jig and abuts against a positioning wall within the work setting jig, the front wire chuck 22 closes. This allows the terminal 103 of the terminal-fitted wire 10 to be positioned in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, after the front wire chuck 22 is closed, the operator presses an operation button (not shown), which closes the rear wire chuck 21 and opens the front wire chuck 22. Thereafter, the rear wire chuck 21 moves to a second position and transports the terminal-fitted wire 10 to the imaging unit 4.

[0023] The imaging unit 4 has a camera (not shown) attached facing downward. When the terminal-fitted wire 10 is conveyed to the imaging unit 4 and held by the front wire chuck 22 facing the imaging unit 4 in the front-rear direction, the terminal 103 comes within the imaging range of the camera.

[0024] 4, the coating unit 5 has a discharge unit 51 provided with a discharge nozzle (not shown) that discharges the coating agent 101, and a pre-irradiation unit 52 provided with a UV light source (not shown) that pre-irradiates UV light LL. The discharge unit 51 and the pre-irradiation unit 52 are fixed to a mounting base 53. In this embodiment, the discharge unit 51 and the pre-irradiation unit 52 are attached to the mounting base 53 side by side in the left-right direction.

[0025] 5, the mounting base 53 is provided so as to be movable in the up-down, left-right, and front-back directions by an up-down cylinder 54, a left-right cylinder 55, and a front-back cylinder 56 (movement mechanisms). By moving the mounting base 53 up-down, left-right, and front-back, the discharge unit 51 and the pre-irradiation unit 52 simultaneously move up-down, left-right, and front-back.

[0026] The UV irradiation unit 6 has a UV light source (not shown) that irradiates UV light. When the terminal-attached wire 10 is transported to the UV irradiation unit 6 and held by the front wire chuck 22 that faces the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction, the terminal 103 enters the irradiation range of the UV light source. In this embodiment, the UV light source of the pre-irradiation unit 52 has a lower output than the UV light source of the UV irradiation unit 6.

[0027] The control unit 7, which functions as a coating control unit and a transport control unit, is composed of a microcomputer that operates according to a program stored in the memory unit, and is responsible for overall control of the coating device 1. In the coating mode, the control unit 7 transports the terminal-attached electric wire 10 through the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in this order, and sequentially supplies the terminal-attached electric wire 10, applies the coating agent 101, and irradiates it with UV light. The control unit 7 also measures the terminal positions from images of the terminals 103 captured by the imaging unit 4, determines the application position of the coating agent 101 based on the measured terminal positions, and controls the movement of the discharge unit 51 to apply the coating agent 101 to the determined application position (i.e., the position that covers the exposed wire bundle 102B).

[0028] Next, the operation of the coating apparatus 1 outlined above will be described with reference to the flowchart in Figure 6. When an operator inserts a terminal-fitted electric wire 10 into the work set jig, the front electric wire chuck 22 closes. This allows the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 to be supplied to the conveying unit 2 (S1). When the operator operates the operation button, the control unit 7 controls the conveying unit 2 to convey the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 held by the electric wire supplying unit 3, the imaging unit 4, and the coating unit 5 to the adjacent imaging unit 4, coating unit 5, and UV irradiation unit 6 on the left side (downstream in the conveying direction).

[0029] As a result, the terminal-fitted wire 10 held by the wire supply unit 3 is transported to the imaging unit 3. When the terminal-fitted wire 10 is transported to the imaging unit 3, the control unit 7 causes the imaging unit 3 to capture an image of the terminal-fitted wire 10 and measure the terminal position (S2). When the worker operates the operation button again, the terminal-fitted wire 10 held by the imaging unit 3 is transported to the coating unit 5. The control unit 7 controls the up-down cylinder 54, the left-right cylinder 55, and the front-rear cylinder 56 to vertically oppose the discharge unit 51 and the terminal 103 of the terminal-fitted wire 10 as shown in FIG. 7, and causes the coating agent 101 to be discharged from the discharge unit 51 (S3).

[0030] In S3, the control unit 7 controls the left-right cylinder 55 and the front-rear cylinder 56 to move the discharge unit 51 back and forth and left and right while discharging the coating material 101. At this time, the control unit 7 determines the application position of the coating material 101 based on the terminal position measured in S2, and applies the coating material 101 to the determined application position.

[0031] Thereafter, if the operator does not press the operation button within a predetermined time (e.g., 2 seconds) after application (Y in S4), the control unit 7 proceeds to S5. In S5, the control unit 7 controls the up-down cylinder 54, the left-right cylinder 55, and the front-rear cylinder 56 to vertically oppose the pre-irradiation unit 52 and the terminals 103 of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 as shown in FIG. 8 , and causes the pre-irradiation unit 52 to pre-irradiate with UV light. Thereafter, when the operator presses the operation button, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 held in the application unit 5 is transported to the UV irradiation unit 6. If the operation button is pressed during pre-irradiation, the control unit 7 transports the terminal-attached electric wire 10 after the pre-irradiation has ended.

[0032] In response to this, if the operation button is operated within a predetermined time after application (N in S4), the control unit 7 transports the terminal-fitted wire 10 without performing pre-irradiation, and transports the terminal-fitted wire 10 held in the application unit 5 to the UV irradiation unit 6. When the terminal-fitted wire 10 is transported to the UV irradiation unit 6, the control unit 7 irradiates it with UV light (S6) and ends the application of the coating agent 101.

[0033] According to the above-described embodiment, both the application of the coating agent 101 and the pre-irradiation of UV light can be performed on the terminal-attached wires 10 transported to the coating unit 5. As a result, even if there is a delay in the transport unit 2, the pre-irradiation can be performed to reduce dripping of the coating agent 101.

[0034] According to the embodiment described above, the discharge unit 51 and the pre-irradiation unit 52 are attached to the mounting base 53, and the mounting base 53 is moved by the up-down, left-right, and front-rear cylinders 54 to 56. Both the discharge unit 51 and the pre-irradiation unit 52 can be moved using the up-down, left-right, and front-rear cylinders 54 to 56. This makes it possible, with a simple configuration, to both apply the coating agent 101 and pre-irradiate the UV light LL to the terminal-attached electric wire 10 transported to the coating unit 5.

[0035] According to the above-described embodiment, if the electric wire with terminal 10 can be transported toward the UV irradiation unit 6 within a predetermined time, pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit 52 is not performed. As a result, pre-irradiation is not performed on all of the electric wire with terminal 10 transported to the coating unit 5, and therefore the time from when the coating agent 101 is applied to the electric wire with terminal 10 until when it is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit 6 can be shortened.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. Furthermore, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the present invention.

[0037] According to the above-described embodiment, the electric wire with terminal 10 is used as the workpiece, but the present invention is not limited to this. The workpiece does not have to be the electric wire with terminal 10 as long as it is coated with the coating material 101.

[0038] According to the embodiment described above, the transport unit 2 has four rear wire chucks 21, but the number of rear wire chucks 21 is not limited to four.

[0039] According to the above-described embodiment, if the electric wire with terminal 10 is coated with the coating agent 101 and then transported to the UV irradiation unit 6 within a predetermined time, pre-irradiation is not performed in the coating unit 5. However, this is not limited to this. Pre-irradiation may be performed every time the electric wire with terminal 10 is transported to the coating unit 5 and coated with the coating agent 101.

[0040] Here, the features of the embodiments of the coating apparatus and coating method according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [6].

[0041] [1] A coating device (1) comprising: a conveying unit (2) that conveys a workpiece (10); a coating unit (5) that applies a coating agent (101) to the workpiece (10) conveyed by the conveying unit (2); and an irradiation unit (6) that is provided downstream (left side) of the coating unit (5) in the conveying direction and that irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent (101) applied to the workpiece (10) conveyed by the conveying unit (2), wherein the coating unit (5) has a discharge unit (51) that discharges the coating agent (101), and a pre-irradiation unit (52) that pre-irradiates curing light (LL) to harden the coating agent (101), and the coating device (1) is capable of both applying the coating agent (101) and pre-irradiating the curing light (LL) to the workpiece (10) conveyed to the coating unit (5).

[0042] According to the coating device (1) having the configuration [1] above, both the coating of the coating material (101) and the pre-irradiation of the curing light (LL) can be performed on the workpiece (10) transported to the coating section (5). As a result, even if there is a delay in the transport section (2), the pre-irradiation can be performed to reduce dripping of the coating material (101).

[0043] [2] In the coating device (1) described in [1], the coating unit (5) has: a mounting base (53) to which both the discharge unit (51) and the pre-irradiation unit (52) are attached; and a movement mechanism (54 to 56) that moves the mounting base (53).

[0044] According to the coating device (1) having the configuration [2] above, both the discharge unit (51) and the pre-irradiation unit (52) can be moved using the movement mechanisms (54 to 56). This allows, with a simple configuration, both the application of the coating material (101) and the pre-irradiation of the curing light (LL) to the workpiece (10) transported to the coating unit (5).

[0045] [3] The coating device (1) described in [1] further includes a coating control unit (7) that controls the coating unit (5) so that, after the coating agent (101) is applied to the workpiece (10), if the workpiece (10) cannot be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within a predetermined time, the pre-irradiation is performed by the pre-irradiation unit (52), and if the workpiece (10) can be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within the predetermined time, the coating device (1) further includes a coating control unit (7) that controls the coating unit (5) so that the pre-irradiation is not performed by the pre-irradiation unit (52).

[0046] According to the coating device (1) having the configuration [3] above, if the workpiece (10) can be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within a predetermined time, pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit (52) is not performed. As a result, pre-irradiation is not performed on all of the workpieces (10) transported to the coating unit (5), and the time from when the coating agent (101) is applied to the workpiece (10) until when the workpiece is irradiated by the irradiation unit (6) can be shortened.

[0047] [4] The coating device (1) described in [3], wherein the conveying unit (2) has a plurality of holding units (21) arranged side by side in the conveying direction (left-right direction) and holding the workpiece (10), and the plurality of holding units (21) are arranged to be freely movable in the conveying direction (left-right direction), and the coating device (1) includes: an operation unit operated by an operator; and a conveyance control unit (7) that controls the conveying unit (left-right direction) and moves the plurality of holding units (21) from the coating unit (5) to the irradiation unit (6) each time the operation unit is operated, and the coating control unit (7) performs the pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit (52) if the operation unit is not operated within the predetermined time after the coating agent (101) is applied to the workpiece (10), and controls the pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit (52) not to be performed if the operation unit is operated within the predetermined time.

[0048] According to the coating device (1) having the configuration [4] above, if the operation unit is operated within a predetermined time and the workpiece (10) can be transported toward the irradiation unit (6), pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit (52) is not performed. As a result, pre-irradiation is not performed on all of the workpieces (10) transported to the coating unit (5), and the time from when the coating material (101) is applied to the workpiece (10) until it is irradiated by the irradiation unit (6) can be shortened.

[0049] [5] The coating device (1) according to [1], wherein the work (10) is an electric wire (102) having a terminal (103) connected to an end thereof.

[0050] According to the coating device (1) having the configuration [5] above, corrosion can be reduced by coating the coating material (101) on the electric wire (102) having the terminal (103) connected to the end thereof.

[0051] [6] A coating method using an application unit (5) that applies a coating agent (101) to a workpiece (10) and an irradiation unit (6) that irradiates the coating agent (101) with curing light to harden the coating agent (101), wherein, after the coating agent (101) is applied to the workpiece (10) using the application unit (5), if the workpiece (10) cannot be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within a predetermined time, the workpiece (10) is pre-irradiated with the curing light using a pre-irradiation unit provided in the application unit (5), and if the workpiece (10) can be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within the predetermined time, the pre-irradiation is not performed.

[0052] According to the coating method configured as described above in [6], if the workpiece (10) cannot be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within a predetermined time after the coating material (101) is applied to the workpiece (10), the workpiece (10) is pre-irradiated with curing light using a pre-irradiation unit (52) provided in the coating unit (5). This allows pre-irradiation to reduce dripping of the coating material (101) even if there is a delay in the transport unit (2). If the workpiece (10) can be transported toward the irradiation unit (6) within the predetermined time, pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit (52) is not performed. This means that not all of the workpieces (10) transported to the coating unit (5) are pre-irradiated, thereby shortening the time between the application of the coating material (101) to the irradiation by the irradiation unit (6).

[0053] Although the present invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0054] This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Patent Application No. 2024-102893) filed on June 26, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0055] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coating device and a coating method that can reduce dripping of a coating material even when a delay occurs in the conveying section. The present invention that achieves this effect is useful for a coating device and a coating method.

[0056] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Coating device 2 Conveying section 5 Coating section 6 UV irradiation section (irradiation section) 10 Terminal-attached electric wire (workpiece) 51 Discharge section 52 Pre-irradiation section 53 Mounting base 54 Up-down cylinder (moving mechanism) 55 Left-right cylinder (moving mechanism) 56 Front-rear cylinder (moving mechanism) 101 Coating agent LL UV light (curing light)

Claims

1. A coating device comprising: a transport unit that transports a workpiece; a coating unit that applies a coating agent to the workpiece transported by the transport unit; and an irradiation unit that is located downstream of the coating unit in the transport direction and that irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent applied to the workpiece transported by the transport unit, wherein the coating unit has a discharge unit that discharges the coating agent and a pre-irradiation unit that pre-irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent, and the coating device is capable of both applying the coating agent and pre-irradiating the curing light to the workpiece transported to the coating unit.

2. A coating device according to claim 1, wherein the coating unit comprises: a mounting base to which both the discharge unit and the pre-irradiation unit are attached; and a movement mechanism for moving the mounting base.

3. A coating device according to claim 1, further comprising a coating control unit that controls the coating unit so that, if the workpiece cannot be transported towards the irradiation unit within a predetermined time after the coating agent has been applied to the workpiece, the pre-irradiation is performed by the pre-irradiation unit, and if the workpiece can be transported towards the irradiation unit within the predetermined time, the pre-irradiation is not performed by the pre-irradiation unit.

4. A coating device according to claim 3, wherein the transport unit has a plurality of holding units arranged in the transport direction to hold the workpiece, and the plurality of holding units are arranged so as to be freely movable in the transport direction, and the coating device comprises: an operation unit operated by an operator; and a transport control unit that controls the transport unit to move the plurality of holding units from the coating unit to the irradiation unit each time the operation unit is operated, and wherein the coating control unit performs the pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit if the operation unit is not operated within the predetermined time after the coating agent is applied to the workpiece, and controls the pre-irradiation by the pre-irradiation unit not to be performed if the operation unit is operated within the predetermined time.

5. A coating device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is an electric wire having a terminal connected to its end.

6. A coating method using an application unit that applies a coating agent to a workpiece and an irradiation unit that irradiates curing light to harden the coating agent, wherein, after the coating agent is applied to the workpiece using the application unit, if the workpiece cannot be transported toward the irradiation unit within a predetermined time, the workpiece is pre-irradiated with the curing light using a pre-irradiation unit provided in the application unit, and if the workpiece can be transported toward the irradiation unit within the predetermined time, the pre-irradiation is not performed.

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