Bellows Tank Coating System for Shear-Sensitive Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coating systems expose coating materials to significant shear forces and moisture, leading to contamination and property degradation, particularly for sensitive materials.
Innovation Solution
A coating system that uses a bellows tank assembly with an inner chamber isolated from an outer chamber, where the coating material is pressurized using a pressurized gas to minimize exposure to shear forces and moisture, and a pressure regulator adjusts the pressure to maintain target pressures at the spray gun, eliminating the need for direct pumping and associated orifices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a pump is used to directly pump coating material at high pressure to the spray gun, then the pressure control at the spray gun is accurate, but the coating material is exposed to significant shear forces and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the pressure control function from the coating material flow. A pump pumps pressurized material (not coating material) to a pressure regulator, which then controls the pressure of coating material at the spray gun. This segmentation allows accurate pressure control without exposing coating material to harmful shear forces from direct pumping.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressurized material acts as an intermediary substance. Instead of pumping coating material directly, the system pumps pressurized material through a bellows mechanism that indirectly pressurizes the coating material. This intermediary approach eliminates direct contact between the pump and coating material, preventing contamination and shear damage.
2Device complexity
If fixed orifices are used in the pump and control mechanisms, then the system structure is simple, but the coating material experiences significant pressure drops causing shearing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the fixed orifices from the coating material flow path. The pressure regulator uses adjustable orifices that can be optimized to minimize pressure drops, and the bellows mechanism removes the need for orifices in the pump itself. This extraction eliminates the source of excessive shear forces on the coating material.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces fixed orifices with an adjustable orifice in the pressure regulator. This dynamic element allows the orifice size to be optimized for different coating materials and operating conditions, minimizing pressure drops and shear forces while maintaining simple system structure.
3Device complexity
If the pump directly pumps coating material, then the system has fewer components, but there are multiple opportunities for moisture exposure and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
Pressurized material serves as an intermediary that is pumped instead of coating material. This intermediary substance is isolated from moisture sources in the pump, while still achieving the desired pressure control for the coating material. The bellows mechanism maintains this isolation, preventing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the coating material from the pump environment entirely. By using a bellows mechanism that is isolated from the pump's internal components (pistons, valves, seals), the coating material is protected from moisture and contaminants present in the pump system, even though the system has more components.
4Stress or pressure
If soft packing and solvent are used in the pump, then the pump can handle high pressures, but these materials mix with coating material causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
Pressurized material acts as an intermediary that undergoes the high-pressure pumping process instead of coating material. The pump's soft packing and solvent only contact this intermediary substance, not the coating material. The bellows mechanism transfers the pressure effect while maintaining isolation, ensuring coating material purity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the high-pressure pumping function from the coating material handling function. The pump handles pressurized material at high pressures with its soft packing and solvent, while the bellows mechanism and pressure regulator handle the coating material separately, preventing contamination and maintaining purity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively controls the pressure of the coating material at the spray gun while minimizing exposure to shear forces and moisture, reducing contamination and extending the system's lifespan by eliminating the need for pumps and associated components.
Implementation Method 1
a bellows that is provided within the outer bellows chamber, the bellows includes an inner bellows chamber that is isolated from the outer bellows chamber and that has a volume that is configured to expand or contract
Implementation Method 2
supplying, subsequent to the filling of the inner bellows chamber with the predetermined amount of the coating material, a pressurized material to the outer bellows chamber to pressurize the coating material within the inner bellows chamber to an operating pressure
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for coating with shear and moisture sensitive materials are disclosed. A method of coating a product includes filling an inner bellows chamber of a bellows, which is provided within and isolated from an outer bellows chamber of a tank, with a predetermined amount of the coating material. The method of coating the product further includes supplying a pressurized material to the outer bellows chamber to pressurize the coating material within the inner bellows chamber to an operating pressure, and supplying the coating material within the inner bellows chamber to a spray gun at the operating pressure. The method of coating also includes determining that a measured actual pressure is within a predetermined control range of the target pressure and subsequently coating the product by spraying the product with the coating material from the spray gun.