Robot Painting Chamber with Suction Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current painting technologies for boat hulls are inefficient, labor-intensive, and result in significant overspray of toxic or polluting paint particles, leading to environmental harm and high manufacturing complexity, with existing devices either being difficult to use or ineffective in preventing overspray.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus featuring an anthropomorphic robot with mobile dispensing means and a chamber that allows movement in multiple degrees of freedom, combined with air suction and control systems to minimize overspray by matching air flow rates and maintaining a consistent distance from the surface, enabling efficient and wide-area painting without moving the cabin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If hand-painting is used, then painting quality can be controlled, but execution time is long and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual hand-painting operations with an automated robotic system that uses spray nozzles to apply paint. The robot executes pre-programmed trajectories to spray paint onto the hull surface, eliminating the need for manual labor while maintaining consistent painting quality through automated control of spray parameters such as distance, speed, and atomization.
2Productivity
If paint spraying is used, then execution time is reduced, but overspray disperses toxic particles into the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent captures the harmful overspray particles that would otherwise disperse into the environment and redirects them through a suction system. The captured particles are then condensed and recovered, transforming the harmful dispersed overspray into a beneficial recovered material that can be reused, thereby eliminating environmental pollution while maintaining efficient spray painting operations.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If a containment cabin with integral movement is used, then overspray is contained, but device complexity and handling difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the system into separate functional components: a stationary containment cabin with suction openings, a mobile robot unit with spray nozzles, and a separate control system. This segmentation allows the robot to move independently within the cabin to paint different areas without requiring the entire cabin structure to move, thereby reducing device complexity and improving ease of operation while maintaining effective overspray containment through the stationary cabin walls and suction system.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If liquid is dispensed inside the cabin to capture particles, then overspray is reduced, but paint outflow is interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the particle capture function from the paint dispensing process by introducing a separate air suction system with suction openings in the cabin walls. Instead of using liquid to capture particles (which interferes with paint flow), the system uses controlled air suction to draw overspray particles away from the painting zone through dedicated suction openings, allowing paint to flow freely from the nozzles without interference while still effectively capturing dispersed particles.
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 solution significantly reduces paint particle dispersion, enhances painting efficiency, and simplifies the manufacturing and usage process, allowing for cost-effective and environmentally friendly painting of large surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
a suction means (11) arranged inside the chamber (5) and suited to suction air from inside the chamber (5)
Implementation Method 2
sensor means (21) arranged inside the chamber (5) and suited to detect a distance of the surrounding edge of the opening (6) from a reference surface (S)
Data Source
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AI summary
The apparatus (1) for the painting of hulls of boats or the like comprises at least an anthropomorphic robot (2) having dispensing means (3) of the paint, at least a supporting body (4) which defines a chamber (5) for containing the robot (2) and which comprises at least an opening (6) suitable for allowing the application of the paint on a reference surface (S), handling means (9, 10) of the body (4) along at least a direction of moving close to/away from (22) the reference surface (S), air suction means (11) to form a suction stream substantially along the entire surrounding edge of the opening (6), according to a preset suctionable air flow, command and control means (20) operatively connected to the handling means (9, 10) to control the movement of the body (4) along the direction of moving close/away (22), sensor means (21) associated with the body (4) to detect the distance of the surrounding edge of the opening (6) from the reference surface (S) and operatively connected to the command and control means (20), the latter being programmed to adjust the distance of the surrounding edge of the opening (6) from the reference surface (S) so as to keep the difference between the flow rate of air entering into the area between the surrounding edge of the opening (6) and the reference surface (S) and the preset suctionable air flow below a preset value.