JP5928797B2 - Paint supply system and paint supply method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating material supply technique for supplying a coating material to an application unit that applies a coating material to an object to be coated.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in painting of an object to be coated, a paint is sprayed onto the object to be coated from an application part provided at the tip of an arm of an industrial robot, and this paint is applied to the object to be coated.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that coats an object to be coated with a spray-type coating unit provided at the tip of an arm of an articulated robot. The robot arm is provided with a storage tank (hereinafter referred to as a cylinder device) connected to the application unit, and paint is supplied from the cylinder device to the application unit. When the painting process is completed, the robot connects the cylinder device to the paint supply pipe provided on the wall in the painting chamber, whereby new paint is supplied from the supply pipe into the cylinder device.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a system that sprays paint onto an object to be coated from a rotary atomizing head type application unit supported at the arm tip of an articulated paint robot, and applies the paint to the object to be painted. Has been. In this system, a cartridge pre-filled with a paint is mounted on the application unit, and the paint is supplied from the cartridge to the application unit during application. For this reason, a cartridge exchange device for storing a large number of cartridges is provided in the painting chamber.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 63-175562 JP 2000-176333 A

  By the way, in the system of Patent Document 1, after a cylinder device is connected to the paint supply pipe, the paint is supplied by the circulation pressure. In this case, for the reason of preventing air from entering the cylinder device, there is a problem that the supply force (for example, supply speed) of the paint is kept low and it takes time to supply the paint.

  On the other hand, in the system of Patent Document 2, it is possible to supply paint without changing the time by exchanging the cartridge. However, a cartridge exchanging apparatus that occupies a large space must be installed near the robot, There is an inconvenience of increasing the size.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can achieve space saving with a simple configuration and can supply paint in a short time to a cylinder device that supplies paint to the application unit. The object is to provide paint supply technology.

The invention according to claim 1 is a paint supply system that moves relative to the object to be coated and is connected to an application unit that applies the paint to the object to be coated, and supplies the paint to the application unit. The first cylinder device that moves together with the application unit and supplies the paint stored in the application unit to the application unit, and the connection with the first cylinder device is released during the application of the paint by the application unit. In this state, the paint to be applied next is temporarily stored, and after the application of the paint by the application unit, the paint to be applied next is connected to the first cylinder device and supplied to the first cylinder device. a second cylinder device, and at least during said coating of said coating material by the coating unit, selectively supplies the supply valve unit connected to the paint or cleaning fluid to the second cylinder device to the second cylinder device, The first cylinder device is connected to a first connection portion connected to the second cylinder device side, and the second cylinder device is connected to a second connection portion connected to the first connection portion. The first cylinder device is supplied with the next coating material from the second cylinder device by connecting the second connection portion to the first connection portion after the coating portion is applied by the application portion. The supply valve portion has a third connection portion connected to the second connection portion, and the second connection portion is disposed so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the third connection portion,
During the application of the paint by the application part, the second connection part is advanced to the second cylinder device and connected to the third connection part, and the paint or the cleaning fluid is supplied from the supply valve part. It is characterized by being.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paint supply system according to the first aspect, the paint supply system is connected to the first cylinder device separately from the connection path between the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device, and after the paint is applied by the application unit. A cleaning unit is provided for supplying a cleaning fluid to the first cylinder device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the paint supply system according to the first aspect, a plurality of the first cylinder device and the application unit are disposed, and another application is performed during application of the paint by at least one application unit. The first connection part for supplying paint to the part is connected to the second connection part, and the paint is supplied from the second cylinder device to the first cylinder device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paint supply system according to the second aspect, when the paint applied first by the application unit and the paint applied next are different, the first cylinder device includes the application After the application of the paint by the unit, the cleaning fluid is supplied from the cleaning unit to perform cleaning, and the second cylinder device has the cleaning from the supply valve unit during the application of the paint by the application unit. A fluid is supplied and cleaning is performed, and then the coating material to be applied next is supplied.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paint supply system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the second cylinder device includes a cylinder extending in a cylindrical shape, and the cylinder provided movably in the cylinder. A drive piston connected to a drive source attached to the drive piston, a driven piston that contacts the drive piston in a detachable manner and is movably provided in the cylinder, and the driven piston is provided on the opposite side of the drive source to the first piston. Filled between the drive piston and the driven piston with the paint connected to the second connection portion that is separably connected to the one connection portion, a through passage opened in the driven piston, and the supply valve portion And a drive source that pushes back the drive piston, and after the paint is filled between the drive piston and the driven piston, the drive source By pushing the driving piston and transmitting the pressing force of the driving piston to the driven piston through the filled paint, the driven piston and the second connecting portion are advanced, and the second connecting portion is After being connected to the first connection part, the filled paint is supplied from the second connection part to the first connection part by pushing the drive piston by the drive source.

The invention according to claim 6 is a paint supply method for supplying the paint to an application part for applying the paint for the object to be coated while moving relative to the object to be coated. An application step of supplying the coating material from one cylinder device to the application unit and applying the coating material to the object to be coated from the application unit; and during the application step, the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device A primary supply step of supplying paint to be applied next from the supply valve portion to the second cylinder device in a disconnected state; a connection step of connecting the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device; A secondary supply step of supplying a coating material to be applied next from the two-cylinder device to the first cylinder device, and the connecting step includes applying a coating material between the driving piston and the driven piston of the second cylinder device. filling And a second connecting portion provided in the driven piston by pressing the driving piston with a driving source and transmitting the pressing force from the driving piston to the driven piston through the filled coating material. A second connecting portion advancing step, in which the driving piston is continuously pushed by the driving source, and the second connecting portion is connected to a first connecting portion connected to the first cylinder device. In the secondary supply step, the filled paint is pushed out from the second connection portion by further pushing the drive piston with the drive source.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the paint supply method according to the sixth aspect, during the period from the primary supply step to the connection step, the connection path between the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device, It has the application side washing process which supplies washing fluid to the 1st cylinder device from the washing part connected with the 1st cylinder device.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 1, the coating material applied next is temporarily stored in a 2nd cylinder apparatus.
Since the paint stored in the second cylinder device is only supplied to the first cylinder device, it takes time to supply the paint so that the paint is supplied to the first cylinder device from the paint supply pipe provided on the wall side in the coating chamber. The paint is not applied and the paint can be supplied from the second cylinder device to the first cylinder device in a short time.
In addition, the second cylinder device is connected to the first cylinder device and can be disconnected from the first cylinder device. That is, since the second cylinder device is movably connected to the first cylinder device integrated with the application unit, when the paint is supplied to the first cylinder device, the second cylinder device is returned to the paint supply side. What is necessary is just to supply a new coating material in a 2nd cylinder apparatus. A paint cartridge is not required, and it is not necessary to prepare a large paint supply system such as a cartridge changing device, and the space occupied by the paint supply system in the factory is reduced. That is, space saving in the factory of the paint supply system can be realized.
Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paint supply system capable of saving space with a simple configuration and supplying paint to the cylinder device in a short time.

Further, when the second cylinder device is connected to the first cylinder device, the paint is supplied to the first cylinder device by utilizing the pushing force of the paint by the second cylinder device and the drawing force of the paint by the first cylinder device. Therefore, compared with the structure which supplies a coating material to a 1st cylinder apparatus with the pumping force from supply piping, the supply of the coating material to a 1st cylinder apparatus can be performed smoothly and at high speed.
Then, the connection between the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device is released during application of the paint by the application unit, so that the installation position of the device having the first cylinder device and the application unit (for example, a painting robot) is set. Accordingly, the second cylinder device and the supply valve unit can be easily arranged at desired positions. That is, since the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device can be freely connected, the degree of freedom of the layout in the painting chamber (the arrangement of the coating unit, the first cylinder device, the second cylinder device, the supply valve unit, etc.) is improved. The paint supply piping can be designed to be shorter while expanding the painting work range by the application unit. As a result, a small amount of paint remains in the supply pipe, and the discard of paint (paint loss) can be significantly suppressed.
In the present invention, the first cylinder device is connected to the first connection portion connected to the second cylinder device side, and the second cylinder device is connected to the second connection portion connected to the first connection portion. Thus, the paint can be supplied from the second cylinder device to the first cylinder device by connecting the first connection portion and the second connection portion. In this case, it is possible to arrange the first connection portion at a position away from the first cylinder device and to arrange the second connection portion at a position away from the second cylinder device. Therefore, for example, the second cylinder device can be arranged at a position that does not interfere with the operation of the painting robot that moves the application unit, whereby the application and supply of the paint can be performed smoothly.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the paint or cleaning fluid is easily supplied from the supply valve part to the second cylinder device by the second connecting part advancing and connecting to the third connecting part during application of the paint by the application part. be able to. Moreover, since a simple actuator can be used as a device for moving the second connection portion back and forth, the installation cost can be reduced.

  In the invention according to claim 2, by providing the cleaning unit that supplies the cleaning fluid to the first cylinder device separately from the connection path of the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device, During the movement of the coating unit and the first cylinder device by the coating robot, the coating unit and the first cylinder device can be cleaned, and the cleaning time can be shortened. Moreover, since the short washing | cleaning area called an application | coating part and a 1st cylinder apparatus can be wash | cleaned by a washing | cleaning part, cleaning time can be shortened further and a paint loss can also be reduced.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, even if the 1st cylinder apparatus and the application part are provided with two or more, the coating material can be efficiently supplied to each 1st cylinder apparatus by one 2nd cylinder apparatus. Thereby, since a coating material can be apply | coated to a to-be-coated object from a some application part, it becomes possible to further shorten the time of a painting operation | work.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 4, a 1st cylinder apparatus and a 2nd cylinder apparatus can be wash | cleaned separately by shifting timing, and each washing | cleaning time can be shortened. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the time for the cleaning operation, and thereby the efficiency of the entire painting operation can be improved.

In the invention according to claim 5, the second cylinder device includes a drive piston pushed by a drive source, a driven piston that comes into contact with the drive piston so as to be separable, and a separable first connection portion provided on the driven piston. And a second connection portion to be connected. After the paint is filled between the two pistons, the drive piston is pushed by the drive source, and the pressure of the drive piston is transmitted to the driven piston via the paint, so that the driven piston and the second connecting portion move forward. After the second connecting portion is connected to the first connecting portion, the paint is supplied from the second connecting portion to the first connecting portion by pushing the driving piston with the driving source. That is, the movement of the second connecting portion and the extrusion of the paint are performed by only one drive source.
When the movement of the second connection part and the extrusion of the paint are performed by one drive source, the drive source is compared with the case where the second connection part is moved by one drive source and the paint is extruded by one drive source. Therefore, the cost of the paint supply system can be reduced.

In the invention according to claim 6, the first supply step of supplying the coating material to be applied next from the supply valve unit to the second cylinder device is performed from the second cylinder device filled with the coating material when the application step is performed. It becomes possible to supply the paint smoothly to the one cylinder device in a short time.
Moreover, in this invention, a 2nd connection part is connected with a 1st connection part by pushing a drive piston at a connection part connection process. Further, in the secondary supply process, the paint is pushed out from the second connection portion by further pushing the drive piston.
That is, the two steps of the connecting portion connecting step and the secondary supply step are performed by the forward movement of the drive piston.
As a result, in the present invention, one cylinder is sufficient as compared with the case of preparing the connecting portion connecting cylinder and preparing the paint extruding cylinder.

In the invention according to claim 7, since the cleaning section can clean the short cleaning section of the application section and the first cylinder device by the application side cleaning process, the cleaning time is shortened and the paint loss is reduced. can do.

It is a figure explaining the structure of the coating material supply system which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of a painting robot provided with a paint supply system. It is a block diagram explaining the connection relation of the component of a coating material supply system. It is a flowchart of the coating material supply method which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the effect | action of the application part at the time of painting. It is a figure explaining the effect | action at the time of the connection of a 1st cylinder apparatus and a 2nd cylinder apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a change of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the 2nd cylinder apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of 9 parts in FIG. 8. It is an exploded view of the 2nd cylinder apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining a paint filling process. It is a figure explaining a 2nd connection part advance process, a connection part connection process, and a secondary supply process. It is a figure explaining another paint filling process. It is a flowchart of a connection process. It is a figure which shows the example of a change of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the 2nd cylinder apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the effect | action of the 2nd cylinder apparatus shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a paint supply system and a paint supply method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a paint supply system 10 according to the present invention.
A painting robot 12 is installed in the painting chamber, and a painting gun 14 for spraying paint onto a workpiece W as an object to be coated is supported by the painting robot 12. The paint supply system 10 is connected to the coating gun 14.

  The paint supply system 10 includes a main cylinder 16 as a first cylinder device that is connected to the paint gun 14 and supplies paint stored in the paint gun 14 to the paint gun 14. During application of the paint, the paint to be applied next is temporarily stored in a state where the connection with the main cylinder 16 is released, and after the application of the paint by the paint gun 14, it is connected to the main cylinder 16 and then applied. A sub-cylinder 18 serving as a second cylinder device for supplying paint to the main cylinder 16 and a sub-cylinder 18 disposed under the sub-cylinder 18 and connected to the sub-cylinder 18 during application of paint by the paint cylinder 14 A supply valve portion (color change valve: hereinafter referred to as CCV) 20 to be selectively supplied to the cylinder 18; Is provided. The CCV 20 also supplies a cleaning fluid (described later) in addition to supplying the paint.

  That is, the paint supply system 10 includes two cylinders, a main cylinder 16 and a sub cylinder 18. Each of the cylinders 16 and 18 performs an operation of temporarily storing the paint and discharging the stored paint.

  In addition, the paint supply system 10 is connected to the main cylinder 16 separately from the connection path between the main cylinder 16 and the sub-cylinder 18, and the cleaning unit 17 supplies the cleaning fluid to the main cylinder 16 after applying the paint by the coating gun 14. Is provided.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the painting robot 12 including the paint supply system 10.
The painting robot 12 is, for example, an industrial articulated robot. A swivel unit 24 of the painting robot 12 is provided on a base unit 22 fixed at a predetermined position in the painting chamber so as to be pivotable about a vertical axis. The base end of the first arm 26 is connected to the upper portion of the turning portion 24 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. A second arm 28 is connected to the tip of the first arm 26 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction.

  The second arm 28 includes a base end side connecting portion 28a connected to the first arm 26, and a cylindrical extending portion 28b that is connected to the front end side of the connecting portion 28a and extends a predetermined length in the front end direction. Have. The main cylinder 16 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the extending portion 28b. Further, a pair of clamping plates 30 are extended from the distal end of the extending portion 28 b, and the pair of clamping plates 30 are disposed so as to be rotatable around the axis of the second arm 28. The coating gun 14 is supported by the pair of sandwiching plates 30, and the coating gun 14 can swing around the support location. The painting robot 12 is not limited to the above-described configuration, and various apparatuses and mechanisms that can move the painting gun 14 relative to the work (FIG. 1, symbol W) are applied. Can do.

  As the coating gun 14, for example, a known rotary atomizing coating apparatus that performs electrostatic coating on a workpiece is suitable. A rotary atomizing head 14 a is provided at the tip of the rotary atomizing coating gun 14. When applying a paint to a workpiece, the rotary atomizing head 14a is rotated with a high voltage applied, and the paint is supplied to the rotary atomizing head 14a. Thereby, the paint is charged to the negative electrode and atomized (atomized), and this atomized paint is jetted from the rotary atomizing head 14a. The sprayed paint is applied to a grounded work, so that satisfactory coating can be performed. Needless to say, the coating gun 14 is not limited to a rotary atomizing coating apparatus that performs electrostatic coating.

  When painting a workpiece, the control unit (FIG. 3, reference numeral 32) causes a plurality of joint portions of the painting robot 12 (the swivel unit 24, the base end of the first arm 26, the base end of the second arm 28, and a pair of pairs). The operation of the clamping plate 30) is controlled to move the coating gun 14 relative to the workpiece, and the rotary atomizing head 14a of the coating gun 14 is made to face a predetermined portion of the workpiece. That is, the coating robot 14 positions the coating gun 14 at a predetermined position of the workpiece, and sprays the coating material from the coating gun 14, thereby coating the workpiece.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the connection relationship of the components of the paint supply system 10.
An in-gun paint path 34 through which the paint passes is formed in the coating gun 14 from the first connecting portion 46 to the rotary atomizing head 14a. A branch path 34 a is branched from the in-gun paint path 34 inside the coating gun 14, and the branch path 34 a communicates with a main supply pipe 36 connected to the main cylinder 16.

  The gun paint path 34 is provided with a first trigger valve 38 that opens and closes the gun paint path 34 based on the control of the control unit 32. The first trigger valve 38 is disposed at a position downstream of the branch path 34a. When applying paint from the paint gun 14, the paint is guided to the rotary atomizing head 14 a of the paint gun 14 by opening the first trigger valve 38 and supplying the paint stored in the main cylinder 16. The paint is sprayed from the rotary atomizing head 14a.

  In addition, a first connecting portion 46 connected to the sub cylinder 18 side is connected to the main cylinder 16, and a second connecting portion 62 connected to the first connecting portion 46 is connected to the sub cylinder 18.

  When the second connecting portion 62 is engaged with the first connecting portion 46, the sub cylinder 18 is connected to the main cylinder 16 via the coating gun 14. That is, a connection path is formed between the sub cylinder 18 and the main cylinder 16. This connection path includes a sub supply pipe 74, a second connection part 62, a first connection part 46, a gun internal paint path 34, and a main supply pipe 36.

  In FIG. 1, the first connecting portion 46 is disposed at the rear end portion of the coating gun 14 so as to communicate with the in-gun paint path (FIG. 3, reference numeral 34). A connection valve is provided. The first connection unit 46 is connected to the second connection unit 62 by being moved to a predetermined position by the painting robot 12. For this reason, the connection surface of the first connection portion 46 is formed in a concave shape that can be engaged with the connection surface of the second connection portion 62. In addition, the first connection valve is in a closed state (normally closed) when the second connection portion 62 is not connected. When the second connection portion 62 is connected, the first connection valve is in response to a command from the control portion 32. It is comprised so that it may be in an open state based on. In addition, the 1st connection part 46 is good also as a structure which the opening and closing of a 1st connection valve switches automatically by the connection and the cancellation | release of a connection with the 2nd connection part 62. FIG.

The second connection part 62 is attached to the movable part 64 a of the actuator 64. When the actuator 64 is driven, the movable portion 64a moves in the vertical direction, so that the second connection portion 62 also moves in the vertical direction. Further, the second connection portion 62 is formed on the connection surface with a convex shape that can be engaged with the first connection portion 46 of the coating gun 14, and a second connection valve is provided therein. This 2nd connection valve opens and closes based on the command from a control part (Drawing 3, numerals 32).
The second connection portion 62 is connected to the tip of the cylinder 66 of the sub cylinder 18 via the sub supply pipe 74.

A CCV 20 (details will be described later) is placed at a position vertically below the second connecting portion 62. The CCV 20 has a third connection portion 82 that is connected to the second connection portion 62.
The sub-cylinder 18 is connected to a second connecting portion 62 that moves up and down by an actuator 64, and the second connecting portion 62 moves downward by the actuator 64, whereby the third connecting portion 82 of the CCV 20. Connected to. That is, the second connection part 62 is disposed so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the third connection part 82.

  In addition, the third connection portion 82 is connected to the upper portion of the CCV space portion 80, and a third connection valve is provided therein. The third connecting portion 82 is disposed vertically below the second connecting portion 62 and is connected to the second connecting portion 62 by the downward movement of the second connecting portion 62. In this way, by configuring the second connecting portion 62 to advance and connect to the third connecting portion 82, a simple actuator 64 that moves the movable portion 64a in the vertical direction can be used. Can be reduced.

Further, it is preferable to apply the same mechanism as the first connection unit 46 to the third connection unit 82. Thereby, the 1st connection part 46 and the 3rd connection part 82 can be manufactured in the same manufacturing process, and installation cost can further be reduced.
The third connection portion 82 has a concave shape that can be engaged with the second connection portion 62 on the connection surface. Note that the third connection valve is open when the second connection 62 is not connected, and is open based on a command from the control unit 32 when the second connection 62 is connected. It is configured to be.

The connection between the second connection unit 62 and the first connection unit 46 or the third connection unit 82 will be summarized below.
As shown in FIG. 3, the coating gun 14 is moved to a predetermined position (vertically below the second connecting part 62 and above the CCV 20) by the painting robot (FIG. 1, reference numeral 12). When moved downward, the second connecting portion 62 can be connected to the first connecting portion 46. On the other hand, the second connecting portion 62 can be connected to the third connecting portion 82 of the CCV 20 by moving the second connecting portion 62 downward while the coating gun 14 is applying the paint.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main cylinder 16 is disposed in the vicinity of the base end side of the coating gun 14 and has a function of supplying the coating material stored therein to the coating gun 14. The main cylinder 16 includes a cylindrical body 40 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the extending portion 28 b of the second arm 28, a piston 42 slidably accommodated in the internal space of the cylindrical body 40, and the rear of the cylindrical body 40. A piston rod 52 inserted through the end and supporting the piston 42 at the tip, and a main cylinder drive motor connected to the rear end of the piston rod 52 to move the piston rod 52 forward and backward and supported by the connecting portion 28a of the second arm 28 44 and a first connection portion 46 disposed at the rear end portion of the coating gun 14.

  The piston 42 is formed to have an outer diameter capable of liquid-sliding in the inner space of the cylindrical body 40. Therefore, a storage space 48 in which the paint is stored is formed in the internal space of the cylindrical body 40 by the inner wall of the cylindrical body 40 and the tip surface of the piston 42. In this case, the volume of the storage space 48 is variable as the piston 42 slides in the front-rear direction.

  A main supply pipe 36 connected to the coating gun 14 and a cleaning pipe 50 connected to the cleaning unit 17 are attached to the tip of the cylindrical body 40. The main supply pipe 36 communicates with a branch path 34 a (see FIG. 3) of the in-gun paint path 34 provided in the paint gun 14, and allows the paint to pass from the storage space 48 of the cylindrical body 40 to the paint gun 14.

  The main cylinder drive motor 44 has an internal mechanism that converts the rotational driving force of the motor into a linear motion in the forward and backward direction. The main cylinder drive motor 44 is connected to a control unit (reference numeral 32 in FIG. 3). When a command is issued from the control unit to the main cylinder drive motor 44, the piston rod 52 moves back and forth, and the piston 42 attached to the piston rod 52 moves forward and backward. The main cylinder drive motor 44 is not particularly limited. For example, a servo motor that can move the piston 42 with high accuracy is preferably used. Of course, an air cylinder, a linear actuator, or the like may be applied as a drive source other than the drive motor.

  The main cylinder 16 is connected to a cleaning section 17 for cleaning paint remaining in the main cylinder 16 (hereinafter referred to as “residual paint”) via a cleaning pipe 50. The cleaning unit 17 cleans the remaining paint by supplying a cleaning fluid to the storage space 48 of the cylindrical body 40. The cleaning fluid used in the examples includes a liquid that cleans the inside of the cylinder and the like by mixing with the paint (hereinafter referred to as a cleaning liquid), water that dilutes the paint (hereinafter referred to as cleaning water), and the like. There is air (hereinafter referred to as cleaning air) that blows away paint, cleaning liquid, and cleaning water, and these are used appropriately for cleaning.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 17 includes two cleaning supply valves WS and WA that can supply cleaning water and cleaning air among the cleaning fluid, and a cleaning fluid that constitutes an inflow and outflow path of the cleaning fluid. A space 54 and a composite valve 56 for controlling the flow of the cleaning fluid are provided. The two cleaning supply valves WS and WA are opened and closed at a predetermined timing based on a command from the control unit 32, and the cleaning water or the cleaning air flows into the cleaning fluid space 54.

  The composite valve 56 is also provided with a second trigger valve 58 and a gate valve 60. The second trigger valve 58 is connected to the main cylinder 16 via the cleaning pipe 50, and the gate valve 60 is connected to the waste part via the cleaning part waste pipe 61. When supplying the cleaning fluid to the main cylinder 16, the second trigger valve 58 is opened, the gate valve 60 is closed, and the cleaning fluid space 54 and the storage space 48 are communicated with each other so that the cleaning fluid is supplied to the main cylinder 16. It can be led to the cylinder 16.

On the other hand, the sub-cylinder 18 is in a state in which the connection with the main cylinder 16 is released during application of the paint by the paint gun 14 and temporarily stores the paint supplied from the CCV 20. The paint temporarily stored in the sub cylinder 18 is supplied to the main cylinder 16 at a predetermined timing.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sub-cylinder 18 is disposed in the painting chamber at a position opposite to the workpiece W (opposite to the place where the painting is performed) with the painting robot 12 interposed therebetween. The position of the sub-cylinder 18 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably disposed near the painting robot 12. Thus, by arranging the sub-cylinder 18 in the vicinity of the painting robot 12, the moving amount and moving time of the coating gun 14 are shortened, and the efficiency of the painting work can be improved.

An actuator 64 that moves the second connecting portion 62 is disposed in the vicinity of the sub cylinder 18. The sub cylinder 18 has the same configuration as the main cylinder 16. That is, the sub cylinder 18 has a cylindrical body 66 and a piston 68, and the piston 68 is connected to a sub cylinder drive motor 72 via a piston rod 70. Further, the sub-cylinder drive motor 72 has the same mechanism as that of the main cylinder drive motor 44.
As shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the sub supply pipe 74, a sub disposal pipe 78 in which a dump valve 76 is disposed at an intermediate position is connected to the tip of the cylindrical body 66. The sub disposal pipe 78 is extended to the disposal section.

  The CCV 20 is provided with a plurality of supply valves Pb for supplying paint and cleaning fluid, a CCV space 80 into which paint and cleaning fluid supplied from these supply valves Pb flow, and a sub-portion provided above the CCV space 80. And a third connection part 82 through which the paint and cleaning fluid supplied to the cylinder 18 pass. A plurality of types of paints can be supplied to the CCV 20. As the plural kinds of paints, those having different pigments (colors), solvents, additives, and the like are appropriately prepared according to the work to be applied (FIG. 1, symbol W). The selected paint or cleaning fluid is caused to flow into the CCV space 80 of the CCV 20 from a plurality of supply valves Pb arranged in a plurality of supply pipes. That is, the CCV 20 is configured as a so-called manifold (manifold).

  Specifically, 20 supply valves Pb for supplying paint are provided (P1 to P20 shown in the figure), and supply valves Pb for supplying cleaning water, cleaning air, and cleaning liquid as cleaning fluids one by one (FIG. WS, WA, WL shown in FIG. The plurality of supply valves Pb are individually opened and closed based on a command from the control unit 32 to allow a predetermined paint or cleaning fluid to flow into the CCV space 80. Of course, the number of supply valves Pb is not limited to this.

  The control unit 32 is connected to the painting robot 12, the painting gun 14, the main cylinder 16, the sub cylinder 18, and the CCV 20, and controls each device. A known computer can be applied as the control unit 32. The control unit 32 stores a control program for controlling each device in accordance with a predetermined procedure (paint supply method).

  The paint supply system 10 is basically configured as described above. Next, the operation of the paint supply system 10 will be described.

  In the paint supply system 10, while the paint is being applied by the paint gun 14, that is, while the main cylinder 16 is supplying the paint to the paint gun 14, the paint to be applied next is supplied to the sub cylinder 18. Then, after the paint is applied by the paint gun 14, the sub cylinder 18 is connected to the main cylinder 16, and the paint filled in the sub cylinder 18 is supplied to the main cylinder 16. Speed).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the paint supply method according to the present invention. Hereinafter, a flow in the case where the coating material A previously applied and the coating material B to be applied next are different, that is, the color change of the coating material will be described.

  First, the paint A previously filled in the main cylinder 16 is supplied to the coating gun 14, and injection of the paint A from the coating gun 14 toward the workpiece W is started. (Step (hereinafter referred to as ST) 10: coating step).

  Next, the sub cylinder 18 connects the sub cylinder 18 and the CCV 20 in a state where the connection with the main cylinder 16 is released. The cleaning fluid is supplied from the CCV 20 to clean the sub cylinder 18 and the CCV 20 (ST11: primary supply side cleaning process).

  Next, the coating material B to be applied next is supplied from the CCV 20 to the sub cylinder 18 (ST12: primary supply step).

  Next, the spraying of the coating material A from the coating gun 14 is stopped. (ST13: Application process).

  Next, a cleaning fluid is supplied from the cleaning unit 17 to the main cylinder 16 and the coating gun 14 to clean the main cylinder 16 and the coating gun 14 (ST14: application side cleaning process). During this cleaning, the remaining paint A remaining in the main cylinder 16 is also discharged.

  Next, in order to supply the coating material B to be applied next from the sub cylinder 18 to the main cylinder 16, the coating gun 14 and the main cylinder 16 are moved to predetermined positions by the coating robot 12 (ST15: main cylinder moving step).

  Next, the main cylinder 16 and the sub cylinder 18 are connected (ST16: connection process).

  Next, the coating material B is supplied from the sub cylinder 18 to the main cylinder 16 (ST17: secondary supply process).

  When the paint B is supplied to the main cylinder 16, the paint gun 14 starts spraying the paint B. Of course, ST11 and ST14 may be omitted when the color of the paint is not changed. Next, specific operations for each of the above steps will be described.

First, the coating process will be described.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the application section during painting.
When applying the paint A to the workpiece W, the control unit (FIG. 3, reference numeral 32) is configured so that the joint portion of the painting robot 12 (the turning unit 24, the base end of the first arm 26, the base end of the second arm 28, and a pair of The operation of the clamping plate 30) is controlled so that the rotary atomizing head 14a of the coating gun 14 is opposed to a predetermined portion of the workpiece W. Further, the control unit controls the operation of the coating gun 14 (rotation of the rotary atomizing head 14a, application of a high voltage, etc.) and opens the first trigger valve (FIG. 3, reference numeral 38) to open the main cylinder 16. The storage space 48 of the coating gun 14 and the in-gun coating path (FIG. 3, reference numeral 34) of the coating gun 14 are communicated with each other.
Furthermore, the paint A filled in the storage space 48 is pushed out by driving the main cylinder drive motor 44 and moving the piston 42 forward based on a command from the control unit. As a result, the paint A flows into the in-gun paint path of the coating gun 14 via the main supply pipe 36, and is guided to the rotary atomizing head 14a of the coating gun 14 by this in-gun paint path, and the rotary atomizing head 14a. Is injected from. That is, in the paint supply system 10, the paint A can be smoothly supplied from the main cylinder 16 to the paint gun 14 by the pushing force of the piston 42.

Next, the primary supply side cleaning process will be described.
During the application process, during the application of the paint by the coating gun 14, the sub cylinder 18 and the CCV 20 that are disconnected from the main cylinder 16 are cleaned.
In this case, the actuator 64 is driven to move the second connecting portion 62 downward.
Next, in FIG. 3, the 2nd connection part 62 is connected to the 3rd connection part 82 of CCV20 in the vertically downward direction. After this connection, based on a command from the control unit 32, the third connection valve of the third connection unit 82 is opened and the second connection valve of the second connection unit 62 is opened. Thereby, the storage space 69 of the sub cylinder 18 and the CCV space 80 of the CCV 20 are communicated.

  Next, the cleaning supply valve WS for allowing the cleaning water to flow into the CCV 20 is opened, and the dump valve 76 disposed in the sub-discard piping 78 is opened. Then, the cleaning water is supplied from the cleaning supply valve WS to the CCV space 80, and the cleaning water is supplied from the CCV space 80 to the storage space 69 of the sub cylinder 18 by the pumping force from the cleaning water supply source. In this case, cleaning water can be taken into the storage space 69 by driving the sub-cylinder driving motor 72 and moving the piston 68 backward. As a result, the remaining paint A remaining in the CCV space 80, the storage space 69 of the sub cylinder 18 and the like is diluted with the cleaning water. The cleaning water mixed with the remaining paint A is discharged from the waste section through the sub-discard piping 78. At this time, by moving the retracted piston 68 forward, the remaining paint A diluted with the cleaning water may be positively pushed out to the disposal unit.

  Next, the cleaning supply valve WA for supplying cleaning air to the CCV 20 is opened. Then, the cleaning air is supplied from the cleaning supply valve WA to the CCV space 80, and the cleaning air is supplied from the CCV space 80 to the storage space 69 of the sub cylinder 18 by the pumping force from the cleaning air supply source. The The residual paint A (including cleaning water) present in the storage space 69 is pushed out with the cleaning air, and the residual paint A is discharged to the disposal unit. Thus, in the coating material supply system 10, the CCV 20 and the sub cylinder 18 can be easily cleaned with the cleaning water and the cleaning air. In this cleaning, it is needless to say that the cleaning supply valve WL for cleaning liquid may be opened to perform cleaning with the cleaning liquid.

Next, the primary supply process will be described.
After the primary supply side cleaning step, the coating material B to be applied next is supplied to the sub cylinder 18.
In this case, the supply valve Pb of the paint B is opened while the second connection portion 62 and the third connection portion 82 are connected. Then, the paint B is supplied from the supply valve Pb to the CCV space 80, and the paint B is supplied from the CCV space 80 to the storage space 69 of the sub-cylinder 18 by the pumping force from the supply source of the paint B. At this time, the paint B can be taken in from the CCV space 80 without causing air or the like to flow into the storage space 69 by driving the sub-cylinder drive motor 72 and moving the piston 68 backward. As a result, the coating material B to be applied next is supplied to the storage space 69 of the sub cylinder 18.

  When the sub cylinder 18 is filled with the paint B, the second connection valve of the second connection portion 62 is closed and the supply valve Pb of the paint B is closed. Then, the actuator 64 is driven to move the second connection portion 62 upward, and the connection with the third connection portion 82 is released. The second connecting portion 62 returns to the origin position by this movement.

Next, the application side cleaning process will be described.
When the injection from the coating gun 14 is stopped, the control unit 32 stops the driving of the main cylinder drive motor 44 and controls the operation of the joint portion of the coating robot 12 to separate the coating gun 14 from the workpiece W. Thereafter, the main cylinder drive motor 44 is driven again, and the piston 42 of the main cylinder 16 is advanced, so that the remaining paint A remaining in the storage space 48 passes through the main supply pipe 36 and the gun internal paint path 34. The paint gun 14 is discharged. Here, on the lower side (floor side) of the painting robot 12 in the painting chamber, a slat is provided as a collecting unit for collecting the paint, and thereby the paint A can be dropped and collected on the lower side of the stool.

  When the remaining paint is discharged, the second trigger valve 58 of the cleaning unit 17 is opened, and the cleaning supply valve WS for allowing the cleaning water in the cleaning unit 17 to flow is opened. Then, the cleaning water is caused to flow from the cleaning supply valve WS, and the cleaning water is caused to flow from the cleaning fluid space portion 54 to the storage space 48 of the main cylinder 16 by the pressure feeding force (circulation pressure) from the cleaning water supply source. Note that when the cleaning fluid flows in, the main cylinder drive motor 44 may be driven to control the piston 42 to retreat. As a result, the supply of cleaning water to the storage space 48 is promoted. The cleaning water flowing into the storage space 48 dilutes the remaining paint A remaining in the storage space 48. The cleaning water mixed with the remaining paint A is discharged from the rotary atomizing head 14a of the coating gun 14 from the storage space 48 through the main supply pipe 36 and the gun internal paint path 34.

  Next, the cleaning supply valve WS is closed, and the cleaning supply valve WA that allows the cleaning air to flow into the cleaning unit 17 is opened. Then, the cleaning air is supplied from the cleaning supply valve WA to the cleaning fluid space 54, and the cleaning air is caused to flow into the storage space 48 of the main cylinder 16 by the pumping force from the cleaning air supply source. The remaining coating material A (including cleaning water) remaining in the storage space 48 is pushed out with the cleaning air, and the remaining coating material A is discharged from the coating gun 14. As described above, the main cylinder 16 and the coating gun 14 can be cleaned separately from the sub cylinder 18 and the CCV 20 by supplying cleaning water and cleaning air from the cleaning unit 17.

Next, the moving process will be described.
After the application-side cleaning process (or while performing the application-side cleaning process), the control unit 32 drives the coating robot 12 and conveys the coating gun 14 to a predetermined position opposite to the workpiece W.
As shown in FIG. 1, the predetermined position is vertically below the second connection portion 62 and between the second connection portion 62 and the third connection portion 82 of the CCV 20. At a predetermined position, the painting robot 12 faces the third connecting portion 82 with the rotary atomizing head 14a of the painting gun 14 facing downward, and the rear end portion of the painting gun 14 faces upward, whereby the first connecting portion The connection surface 46 is opposed to the connection surface of the second connection part 62. That is, the coating gun 14 is positioned at a predetermined position in a posture in which the central axis portion coincides with the axis connecting the second connection portion 62 and the third connection portion 82.

Next, the connection process will be described.
FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the operation when the main cylinder 16 and the sub cylinder 18 are connected.
The second connecting portion 62 is moved downward to connect the second connecting portion 62 to the first connecting portion 46. After this connection, the control unit (reference numeral 32 in FIG. 3) opens the first connection valve of the first connection unit 46 and opens the second connection valve of the second connection unit 62. Accordingly, the storage space 69 of the sub cylinder 18, the sub supply pipe 74, the second connection portion 62, the first connection portion 46, the gun internal paint path (FIG. 3, reference numeral 34), the main supply pipe 36, and the storage of the main cylinder 16. The space 48 is communicated.

Next, the secondary supply process will be described.
After the connecting step, while maintaining the above communication state, the main cylinder drive motor 44 is driven to retract the piston 42 of the main cylinder 16 and the sub cylinder drive motor 72 is driven to drive the sub cylinder 18. The piston 68 is advanced. At this time, by synchronizing the backward movement of the piston 42 and the forward movement of the piston 68, the increase rate of the volume of the storage space 48 and the decrease rate of the volume of the storage space 69 can be interlocked. The paint can be supplied from the sub-cylinder 18 to the main cylinder 16 without greatly changing the internal pressure. As a result, the paint B can be supplied from the sub cylinder 18 to the main cylinder 16 at a high speed, and the leakage of the paint B from the cylinders 40 and 66 and the entry of air or the like when the paint B is supplied are suppressed. Can do.

  As described above, in FIG. 1, the coating material supply system 10 performs the following from the CCV 20 to the sub cylinder 18 during the coating of the coating gun 14, that is, while supplying the coating material from the main cylinder 16 to the coating gun 14. By supplying this paint, the paint can be supplied from the sub cylinder 18 to the main cylinder 16 after application. In this case, since the paint can be discharged by the pushing force of the piston 68 of the sub cylinder 18 and the paint can be sucked by the pulling force of the piston 42 of the main cylinder 16, the paint is applied to the main cylinder by the pressure feeding force from the supply pipe. Compared with the supply configuration, the paint can be supplied to the storage space 48 of the main cylinder 16 smoothly and in a short time.

  Furthermore, when changing the color of the paint, the paint supply system 10 cleans the CCV 20 and the sub cylinder 18 during the application of the paint by the paint gun 14 and supplies the sub cylinder 18 with the paint to be applied next. be able to. On the other hand, after the application, the cleaning gun 17 and the main cylinder 16 are cleaned by the cleaning unit 17 to supply the cleaning fluid to a short cleaning section, thereby shortening the cleaning time and reducing the paint loss. You can also As a result, it is possible to greatly shorten the work time when changing the color of the paint, and thereby the efficiency of the painting work can be improved. In addition, if the main cylinder 16 is cleaned (coating side cleaning process) while the coating gun 14 is being transported (moving process) by the coating robot 12 after coating, the work efficiency at the time of color change is further improved. It will be. Of course, the main cylinder 16 and the sub cylinder 18 may be cleaned together by supplying paint from the cleaning section 17 in a state where the main cylinder 16 and the sub cylinder 18 are connected.

In the coating material supply system 10 described so far, when the coating material is supplied to the main cylinder 16, the driving source of the second connection portion 62 is the actuator 64, and the driving source of the coating material extrusion is the sub cylinder driving motor 72.
By the way, energy saving is required from the viewpoint of global environmental problems. Therefore, it is better that the number of drive sources is small. Therefore, an example in which only one drive source is required when supplying paint to the main cylinder 16 will be described.

In FIG. 7, the same structure as that in FIG. The main change is that one drive source is used to advance the second connecting portion and push out the paint.
The paint supply system 10B is connected to the CCV 20 supported by the support 91 and the CCV space 80 of the CCV 20 supported by the support 91 via the primary supply pipe 92 and supplied to the main cylinder 16. And a sub cylinder 93 (details will be described later).

  A convex first connection portion 95 (described later in detail) is provided at the rear end portion of the coating gun 94, and a concave second connection portion 96 (provided at the lower end of the sub cylinder 93) is provided on the first connection portion 95. Are connected).

  A drive source 97 for driving a piston (described later) in the sub cylinder 93 is provided at the upper end of the sub cylinder 93. The drive source 97 includes a transmission mechanism 99 that is attached to the upper end of the sub cylinder 93 and moves the shaft 98 forward or backward, and an electric motor 101 having an output shaft coupled to the transmission mechanism 99. In the embodiment, the drive source 97 is provided at the upper end of the sub-cylinder 93. However, the drive source 97 may be supported by the outer peripheral portion of the sub-cylinder 93 or the support portion 91, and the drive source 97 may be provided at an arbitrary place. Absent.

  The driving force of the electric motor 101 is transmitted to the transmission mechanism 99, and the driving force is transmitted from the transmission mechanism 99 to the shaft 98, thereby moving the shaft 98 forward or backward. The drive source 97 is preferably a combination of the electric motor 101 and the transmission mechanism 99. Alternatively, a pneumatic cylinder may be applied to the drive source 97.

  The electric motor 101 and the primary supply valve 102 provided in the middle of the primary supply pipe 92 are controlled by the control unit 32.

The structure of the sub cylinder 93 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the sub-cylinder 93 is formed in a cylindrical shape and includes a coating gun side flange 103 at the end of the coating gun (FIG. 7, reference numeral 94) and a driving side flange 104 at the end of the driving source 97. , A drive piston 106 movably provided in the cylinder 105 and connected to a shaft 98 of a drive source 97 connected to the drive-side flange 104, and a cylinder that comes into contact with the drive piston 106 in a separable manner. A driven piston 107 that is movably provided in 105, and is provided on the driven piston 107 so as to face the opposite side of the drive source 97 and is connected to the first connecting portion 95, and allows the paint to flow out. A second connecting portion 96 that stops the outflow of paint when the connection with the one connecting portion 95 is released, and short pipes 108 and 1 as through passages attached to the driven piston 107. A primary supply valve 102 in the open state when filling the paint is connected to the supply pipe 92 between the drive piston 106 and the slave piston 107, a driving source 97. for pushing back the drive piston 106.

  In addition, a piston support member 127 that supports the driven piston 107 is connected to the paint gun side flange 103 of the cylinder 105.

Next, the operation of the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 will be described.
When the electric motor (FIG. 7, reference numeral 101) is rotated forward based on the command of the control unit 32, the shaft 98 is retracted, and the drive piston 106 is returned to the drive source 97 side. At this time, the driven piston 107 is slightly separated from the driving piston 106, but the pressure between the driving piston 106 and the driven piston 107 becomes negative, so that the driven piston 107 is pushed to the atmospheric pressure and the driving source 97 together with the driving piston 106. Back to the side.

Next, the seal structure of the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 will be described.
The outer peripheral surface 109 of the drive piston 106 is provided with a concave drive peripheral groove 111 and a drive small-diameter portion 112 provided adjacent to the drive peripheral groove 111 and having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the outer peripheral surface 109. .
A drive seal member 113 is attached to the drive circumferential groove 111 and the drive small diameter portion 112. The drive seal member 113 is fitted in the drive circumferential groove 111 and engaged with the drive small-diameter portion 112 and is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 114 of the cylinder 105, and the drive resin material 115 is encased in the drive seal member 115. The drive O-ring 116 for extruding the drive resin material 115 to the inner peripheral surface 114 of the cylinder 105 is rare.

The outer peripheral surface 117 of the driven piston 107 is provided with a concave driven peripheral groove 118 and a driven small diameter portion 119 provided adjacent to the driven peripheral groove 118 and having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the outer peripheral surface 117. .
A driven seal member 121 is attached to the driven peripheral groove 118 and the driven small diameter portion 119. The driven seal member 121 is engaged with the driven peripheral groove 118 and engaged with the driven small-diameter portion 119 and is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 114 of the cylinder 105, and the driven resin material 122 is encased in the driven resin member 122. Rarely, it comprises a driven O-ring 123 that pushes the driven resin material 122 to the inner peripheral surface 114 of the cylinder 105.

  The drive resin material 115 of the drive seal member 113 is a material that improves the slidability of the drive piston 106 with respect to the cylinder 105 when the drive piston 106 is moved forward or backward. In addition, the drive O-ring 116 seals the gap between the inner peripheral surface 114 of the cylinder 105 and the outer peripheral surface 109 of the drive piston 106. That is, the drive seal member 113 can improve the slidability of the drive piston 106 and can seal the gap between the cylinder 105 and the drive piston 106. The driven seal member 121 also exhibits the same function as the drive seal member 113.

The structure of the 1st connection part 95 and the 2nd connection part 96 is demonstrated based on FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the first connecting portion 95 includes a first main body portion 131 supported at the rear end portion of the coating gun (FIG. 7, reference numeral 94), and a cylinder (FIG. 8, FIG. 8). A first supply passage 132 that is opened in the radial direction of reference numeral 105) and connected to the in-gun paint passage 34 and through which the paint passes, and a second supply passage 133 that is provided so as to intersect with the first supply passage 132. A first outflow control valve 135 that includes a valve body that abuts a supply first intersection 134 where the passage 132 and the passage 133 intersect, and that opens or closes the supply first intersection 134 by operating the valve body; The first connecting member 136 is provided at the upper end of the main body 131.

  The second connecting portion 96 includes a second main body portion 137 supported by the driven piston 107, a supply third passage 138 opened in the second main body portion 137 in the axial direction of the cylinder and connected to the supply second passage 133, and A fourth supply passage 139 provided so as to intersect the third supply passage 138 and a fifth supply passage 141 provided so as to intersect the outer wall side of the cylinder of the fourth supply passage 139 and penetrating toward the drive piston 106. And a second outflow control valve 143 that includes a valve body that abuts the supply second intersection 142 where the passage 138 and the passage 139 intersect, and opens or closes the supply second intersection 142 by operating the valve body; And a second connecting member 144 provided on the painting gun side of the second main body 137. For example, an air operated valve is suitable for the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143.

  The first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143 are connected to a control unit (reference numeral 32 in FIG. 8) via a cable, and the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143 are opened and closed. This is performed based on a command from the control unit.

  When a command for opening operation is issued from the control unit to the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143 in a state where the second connection unit 96 is connected to the first connection unit 95, the passages 141, 139, and 138 are provided. , 133 and 132 can be passed. That is, the second connecting portion 96 can cause the paint to flow out when connected to the first connecting portion 95. The operation of filling the paint between the driving piston 106 and the driven piston 107 will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the second connecting portion 96 is separated from the first connecting portion 95, the controller issues a closing operation command to the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143. That is, the second connection portion 96 can stop the paint from flowing out when the connection with the first connection portion 95 is released.

The disassembling procedure of the sub cylinder 93 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, the drive source 97 is removed from the cylinder 105 by removing the bolt 125 and the nut 126 from the drive source connection portion 124 and the drive side flange 104. Next, the drive piston 106 is removed from the tip of the shaft 98 of the drive source 97. Next, the piston 128 is removed from the cylinder 105 by removing the bolt 128 and the nut 129 from the paint gun side flange 103 and the piston support member 127. Therefore, the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 are taken out from the cylinder 105.

Next, the operation of the sub cylinder 93 described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 11A, the shaft 98 is returned as shown by the arrow (1) by the drive source (FIG. 7, reference numeral 97), and the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 are returned to the drive source side.

  In (b), the operation of the drive source is temporarily stopped. Next, the controller 32 issues an opening operation command to the primary supply valve 102. This completes preparation for filling the paint. In this state, the shaft 98 is further returned as shown by the arrow (2) by the drive source (FIG. 7, reference numeral 97).

  As shown in (c), when the drive piston 106 is returned to the drive source side, the paint 145 is taken in between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 as shown by the arrow (3). The shaft 98 is further returned as shown by the arrow (4).

  As shown in FIG. 12A, paint 145 is filled between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107. When the specified time has elapsed, the controller 32 issues a closing operation command to the primary supply valve 102 to close the primary supply valve 102.

  In this state, when the shaft 98 is pushed as indicated by the arrow (5), the paint 145 is pushed by the drive piston 106 as indicated by the white arrow, and the driven piston 107 is pushed by the paint 145 as indicated by the white arrow. Therefore, the drive piston 106, the driven piston 107, and the paint 145 filled therebetween advance as indicated by the arrow (6).

As a result, as shown to (b), the 2nd connection part 96 is connected to the 1st connection part 95 located in a standby state.
(C) is an enlarged view of part c of (b). When an opening operation command is issued from the control unit 32 to the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143, the first outflow side valve body 146 is moved to an arrow. Retreat as shown in (7), and the second outlet valve body 147 moves back as shown by arrow (8).

  As shown in (d), when the shaft 98 is pushed as shown by an arrow (9), the paint 145 pushed by the drive piston 106 is fed into the fifth supply passage 141 and the second supply intersection as shown by the arrow (10). 142, the third supply passage 138, the second supply passage 133, the first supply intersection 134, and the first supply passage 132. As a result, the paint 145 is supplied to the main cylinder (FIG. 7, reference numeral 16) via the in-gun paint path.

Next, the operation of the sub cylinder 93 will be described.
As shown in (a), after the paint 145 is filled between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107, the sub cylinder 93 pushes the drive piston 106 as shown by the arrow (5) by the drive source, and the white arrow Is transmitted to the driven piston 107 through the filled paint 145, and the driven piston 107 and the second connecting portion 96 are moved forward as indicated by an arrow (6). ) After the second connecting portion 96 is connected to the first connecting portion 95, the charged piston 145 is pushed from the second connecting portion 96 to the first connecting portion by pushing the driving piston 106 with a driving source. 95, the second connection portion 96 is advanced and the coating material 145 is pushed out by only one drive source.

  In FIG. 11, the paint is filled by separating the drive piston 106 from the driven piston 107, but the driven piston 107 may be separated from the drive piston 106 to fill the paint. An example of this will be described next.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, when the controller 32 issues an opening operation command to the primary supply valve 102 with the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 returned to the drive source side, the arrow (11) indicates Thus, the paint flows between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107. Pushed by the paint, the driven piston 107 moves forward as shown by the arrow (12).

  As shown in (b), filling of the paint 145 between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 is started. The supply of paint continues as indicated by the arrow (13), and the driven piston 107 further advances as indicated by the arrow (14).

  As a result, as shown in (c), the paint 145 is filled between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107. When the specified time has elapsed, the controller 32 issues a closing operation command to the primary supply valve 102 to close the primary supply valve 102. By pushing the shaft 98 and the drive piston 106 as shown by the arrow (15), the driven piston 107 is pushed through the paint 145, and the drive piston 106, the driven piston 107, and the paint 145 filled therebetween are changed to the arrow. Move forward as in (16).

A connection process performed using the sub cylinder 93 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 14, in ST20, a paint filling step of filling paint between the driving piston and the driven piston of the second cylinder device is performed. Specifically, in FIG. 11C, when the drive piston 106 is returned to the drive source side, the paint 145 is taken in between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 as indicated by an arrow (3). When the shaft 98 is further returned as shown by the arrow (4), the paint 145 is filled between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107.

  In ST21, the driving piston is pushed by the driving source, and this pressing force is transmitted from the driving piston to the driven piston through the paint, so that the second connecting portion provided in the driven piston advances. Carry out the forward process. Specifically, in FIG. 12A, when the shaft 98 is pushed as indicated by an arrow (5), the paint 145 is pushed by the drive piston 106 as indicated by the white arrow, and is driven by the paint 145 as indicated by the white arrow. The piston 107 is pushed.

In ST22, the connecting piston connecting step is performed in which the driving piston is continuously pushed by the driving source and the second connecting portion is connected to the first connecting portion connected to the first cylinder device. Specifically, in FIG. 12A, the drive piston 106, the driven piston 107, and the paint 145 filled therebetween advance as indicated by the arrow (6). As a result, the second connection part 96 is connected to the first connection part 95 as shown in FIG.
As described above, the connecting step includes the paint filling step, the second connecting portion advancement step, and the connecting portion connecting step.

Next, the secondary supply process performed using the sub cylinder 93 will be described.
In FIG. 12D, in the secondary supply step, the charged piston 145 is further pushed from the second connection portion as indicated by an arrow (10) by further pushing the drive piston 106 as indicated by an arrow (9) with a drive source. Extruded.

The function of the sub cylinder 93 will be summarized below.
In FIG. 12, only one drive source provided in the sub cylinder 93 performs the connection of the second connection part 96 to the first connection part 95 in the connection part connection process and the extrusion of the paint 145 in the secondary supply process. I made it.

In the description so far, when the paint is filled in the sub cylinder 93, only the drive piston 106 is moved as shown in FIG. 11, but the driven piston 107 is also slightly moved while the paint 145 is filled. Sometimes. By the way, in managing the amount of paint used, the quantitativeness of the paint filled in the sub cylinder 93 is required. However, the slight movement of the driven piston 107 makes it difficult to fill the paint with a certain amount each time.
In addition, in FIG. 13, when the paint is filled in the sub-cylinder 93, only the driven piston 107 is moved. However, even if the paint filling is stopped, the driven piston 107 stops due to the residual pressure of the paint supply pressure. It takes time until. Therefore, it becomes difficult to fill the coating material by a certain amount each time. That is, it is difficult to ensure the quantitativeness of the paints by the paint filling methods described so far. Then, the example which can ensure the quantitative property of a coating material is demonstrated below.

  In FIG. 15, the same structure as that of FIG. The main change is that the cylinder that houses the drive piston and the driven piston is movable. The sub-cylinder 150 includes a cylinder guide 153 (details will be described later) attached to the support portion 151, a cylinder 152 (details will be described later) which is supported by the cylinder guide 153 so as to be movable up and down, and houses the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107. A guide member 157 including a radial direction portion 155 connected to the drive side end portion 154 and an axial direction portion 156 extending in the axial direction from the radial direction portion 155, and a drive source 97 provided in the axial direction portion 156. And a slider 159 movably engaged with the groove 158 formed.

A piston support portion 162 that supports the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107 is provided at the connection side end portion 161 of the cylinder 152.
Since the drive source 97 and the slider 159 are connected to the drive piston 106 via the shaft 98, the drive source 97 and the slider 159 are also supported by the piston support portion 162.

The detailed structures of the cylinder 152 and the cylinder guide 153 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 16, a piston portion 163 extending outward in the diameter of the cylinder 152 is formed at the driving side end portion of the cylinder 152. A moving side O-ring groove 165 into which the moving side O-ring 164 is fitted is formed on the outer surface of the piston portion 163.

  The cylinder guide 153 includes a large-diameter portion 167 connected to the radial portion 155 by a bolt 166, a ring portion 168 extending from the large-diameter portion 167 inward in the diameter of the cylinder 152, and a cylinder 152 connected to the ring portion 168. And a small-diameter portion 171 that covers the outer peripheral surface 169. The small diameter portion 171 is formed with a stationary O ring groove 173 into which the stationary O ring 172 is fitted.

  In addition, an air supply pipe 174 that supplies compressed air is connected to the ring portion 168, and an air supply valve 175 that is open when compressed air is supplied is provided in the middle of the air supply pipe 174. Furthermore, an air exhaust pipe 176 that exhausts compressed air is connected to the ring portion 168, and an air exhaust valve 177 that is opened when exhausting compressed air is provided in the middle of the air exhaust pipe 176. The controller 32 controls the opening / closing operation of the air supply valve 175 and the opening / closing operation of the air exhaust valve 177.

  Between the radial direction portion 155 of the guide member 157 and the piston portion 163, a plurality of cylinder urging members 182 that urge the cylinder 152 toward the coating material extrusion side are provided.

Next, the operation of the cylinder 152 will be described.
When the air supply valve 175 is opened and compressed air is allowed to flow between the cylinder 152 and the cylinder guide 153, the piston portion 163 moves toward the guide member 157 as indicated by an imaginary line. That is, the air chamber 179 is formed by the peripheral wall 178 of the cylinder 152, the piston portion 163, the large diameter portion 167 of the cylinder guide 153, and the ring portion 168 of the cylinder guide 153. With the compressed air stored in the air chamber 179, the cylinder 152 can be held in a state of being moved to the guide member 157 side. At this time, the cylinder urging member 182 is in a compressed state.

On the other hand, when the air supply valve 175 is closed and the air exhaust valve 177 is opened, the compressed air is exhausted outward from the air chamber 179. Due to the urging force of the cylinder urging member 182, the cylinder 152 is returned to the initial position indicated by the solid line. A compression spring is suitable for the cylinder urging member 182.
Since the sealing performance of the air chamber 179 is maintained by the moving side O-ring 164 and the stationary side O-ring 172, the internal pressure does not decrease when compressed air is supplied into the air chamber 179. Therefore, the cylinder 152 can be reliably moved.

The operation of the sub cylinder 150 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 17A, the compressed air 181 is filled in the air chamber 179, and the cylinder 152 is moved to the guide member 157 side. The air supply valve 175 is in a closed state.
The primary supply valve 102 is opened by a command from the control unit 32, and the paint is supplied into the cylinder 152 as shown by an arrow (18). Next, the drive piston 106 is moved to the drive source 97 side as indicated by an arrow (19) by the drive force of the drive source 97.

As a result, as shown in (b), the paint 145 is filled between the drive piston 106 and the driven piston 107. The primary supply valve 102 is closed.
In response to a command from the control unit 32, the air exhaust valve 177 is opened, and the compressed air 181 in the air chamber 179 is exhausted out of the cylinder 152 as indicated by an arrow (20). Due to the urging force of the cylinder urging member 182, the driving source 97, the driving piston 106, the paint 145, the driven piston 107, and the cylinder 152 are moved in the direction of the arrow (21). Next, the air exhaust valve 177 is closed.

  As a result, as shown in (c), the second connection unit 96 is connected to the first connection unit 95 located in the standby state. In response to a command from the control unit 32, the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143 are opened. In this state, the driving piston 106 is pushed out as indicated by an arrow (22) by the driving force of the driving source 97.

  In (d), the first outflow control valve 135 and the second outflow control valve 143 are closed by a command from the control unit 32. When the air supply valve 175 is opened by a command from the control unit 32 and compressed air is supplied into the cylinder 152 as indicated by an arrow (23), the drive source 97, the drive piston 106, the driven piston 107, and the cylinder 152 are moved to the arrow ( Move as shown in 24). That is, the cylinder 152 is returned to the preparation position before filling the paint.

The effects of the paint supply systems 10 and 10B and the paint supply method according to the present invention will be described below.
With the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the paint supplied from the supply valve unit 20 is stored in the second cylinder device 18 and only the paint is supplied from the second cylinder device 18 to the first cylinder device 16. It takes no time to supply the paint so that the paint is supplied to the first cylinder device 16 from the paint supply pipe provided on the wall side in the coating chamber, and the paint is shortened from the second cylinder device 18 to the first cylinder device 16. Can be supplied on time.

  In addition, with the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the second cylinder device 18 is connected to the first cylinder device 16 and can be disconnected from the first cylinder device 16. That is, since the second cylinder device 18 can be disconnected from the first cylinder device 16 integrated with the application unit 14, when the paint is supplied to the first cylinder device 16, The connection may be released and new paint may be supplied from the supply valve unit 20 into the second cylinder device 18. A paint cartridge is not required, and it is not necessary to prepare a large paint supply system such as a cartridge exchange device, and the space occupied by the paint supply system 10 in the factory is reduced. That is, space saving in the factory of the paint supply system 10 can be realized.

  Furthermore, with the configuration shown in FIG. 6, when the second cylinder device 18 is connected to the first cylinder device 16, the pushing force of the paint by the second cylinder device 18 and the paint pulling force by the first cylinder device 16 are used. Since the paint can be supplied to the first cylinder device 16, the paint can be supplied to the first cylinder device 16 in comparison with the configuration in which the paint is supplied to the first cylinder device 16 by the pumping force from the supply pipe. Smooth and fast.

  Then, with the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the first cylinder device 16 and the application unit 14 are provided by releasing the connection between the first cylinder device 16 and the second cylinder device 18 during application of the paint by the application unit 14. The second cylinder device 18 and the supply valve unit 20 can be easily arranged at desired positions according to the installation position of the device (the painting robot 12). That is, since the first cylinder device 16 and the second cylinder device 18 can be freely connected, the layout in the coating chamber (arrangement of the coating unit 14, the first cylinder device 16, the second cylinder device 18, the supply valve unit 20, etc.) The degree of freedom is improved, and the paint supply piping can be designed to be shorter while expanding the painting work range by the application unit 14. As a result, the amount of residual paint remaining in the supply pipe becomes small, and the disposal of paint (paint loss) can be greatly suppressed.

  With the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 17 that supplies the cleaning fluid to the first cylinder device 16 is provided separately from the connection path between the first cylinder device 16 and the second cylinder device 18, so that After the application, for example, during the movement of the application unit 14 and the first cylinder device 16 by the coating robot 12, the application unit 14 and the first cylinder device 16 can be cleaned, and the cleaning time can be shortened. Moreover, since the short washing | cleaning area called the application part 14 and the 1st cylinder apparatus 16 can be wash | cleaned by the washing | cleaning part 17, cleaning time can be shortened further and a paint loss can also be reduced.

  With the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the paint can be supplied from the second cylinder device 18 to the first cylinder device 16 by the connection of the first connection portion 46 and the second connection portion 62. In this case, it is possible to arrange the first connection portion 46 at a position away from the first cylinder device 16 and the second connection portion 62 at a position away from the second cylinder device 18. The second cylinder device 18 can be arranged at a position that does not interfere with the movement of the painting robot 12, and thereby the application and supply of paint can be carried out smoothly.

  With the configuration shown in FIG. 6, during application of the paint by the application unit 14, the second connection unit 62 advances and connects to the third connection unit 82, so that the paint or the paint is supplied from the supply valve unit 20 to the second cylinder device 18. The cleaning fluid can be easily supplied. Moreover, since a simple actuator 64 can be used as a device for moving the second connection portion 62 back and forth, the installation cost can be reduced.

  With the configuration shown in FIG. 1, even when a plurality of the first cylinder devices 16 and the application units 14 are arranged, the paint can be efficiently supplied to each first cylinder device 16 by one second cylinder device 18. . Thereby, since a coating material can be apply | coated from the some application part 14 with respect to the to-be-coated article W, it becomes possible to further shorten the time of a painting operation.

  With the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the first cylinder device 16 and the second cylinder device 18 can be cleaned separately at different timings, and each cleaning time can be further shortened. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the time for the cleaning operation, and thereby the efficiency of the entire painting operation can be improved.

  With the configuration shown in FIG. 12, when the movement of the second connection portion 96 and the extrusion of the paint 145 are performed by one drive source, the second connection portion 96 is moved by one drive source and the paint 145 is moved by one drive source. Compared with the case of extruding with a drive source, the number of drive sources is reduced, so the cost of the paint supply system can be reduced.

  In FIG. 5, when the application process is performed, the first supply process for supplying the coating material to be applied next from the supply valve unit 20 to the second cylinder device 18 is performed, whereby the first cylinder device 18 filled with the coating material performs the first process. It becomes possible to supply the paint to the cylinder device 16 smoothly and in a short time.

  In FIG. 5, a short cleaning section of the application unit 14 and the first cylinder device 16 can be cleaned by the cleaning unit 17 by the application side cleaning process, so that the cleaning time is shortened and the paint loss is reduced. be able to.

In FIG. 12, the second connecting portion 96 is connected to the first connecting portion 95 by pushing the drive piston 106 in the connecting portion connecting step. Further, in the secondary supply process, the coating piston is pushed out from the second connection portion 96 by further pressing the drive piston 106.
That is, the two steps of the connecting portion connecting step and the secondary supply step are performed by the forward movement of the drive piston 106.
As a result, in the present invention, one cylinder 93 is sufficient as compared with the case of preparing the connecting portion connecting cylinder and preparing the paint extruding cylinder.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various configurations and processes can be employed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The paint supply system and paint supply method of the present invention are suitable for a car body painting line of an automobile.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10B ... Paint supply system, 12 ... Coating robot, 14 ... Application | coating part (painting gun), 16 ... 1st cylinder apparatus (main cylinder), 17 ... Cleaning part, 18, 93 ... 2nd cylinder apparatus (sub cylinder) , 20 ... Supply valve section (CCV), 32 ... Control section, 40, 66 ... Cylindrical body, 42, 68 ... Piston, 44 ... Main cylinder drive motor, 46, 95 ... First connection section, 48, 69 ... Storage Space, 62, 96 ... 2nd connection part, 64 ... Actuator, 72 ... Sub cylinder drive motor, 82 ... 3rd connection part, 97 ... Drive source, 102 ... Supply valve (primary supply valve), 105 ... Cylinder, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 106 ... Drive piston, 107 ... Driven piston, 108 ... Through-path (short pipe), 145 ... Paint, A ... Paint applied previously, B ... Paint applied next, W ... To-be-coated object (work).

Claims (7)

A paint supply system that moves relative to an object to be coated and is connected to an application unit that applies the paint to the object to be coated, and supplies the paint to the application unit,
A first cylinder device that moves with the application unit and supplies the coating material stored therein to the application unit;
During application of the paint by the application unit, the paint to be applied next is temporarily stored in a state where the connection with the first cylinder device is released, and after the application of the paint by the application unit, A second cylinder device connected to a first cylinder device for supplying the first coating material to the first cylinder device;
A supply valve portion that is connected to the second cylinder device and selectively supplies the paint or cleaning fluid to the second cylinder device at least during application of the paint by the application unit;
The first cylinder device is connected to a first connection portion connected to the second cylinder device side, and the second cylinder device is connected to a second connection portion connected to the first connection portion. ,
The first cylinder device is supplied with the next coating material from the second cylinder device by connecting the second connection portion to the first connection portion after the coating portion is applied by the application portion. ,
The supply valve portion has a third connection portion connected to the second connection portion,
The second connection part is disposed so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the third connection part,
During the application of the paint by the application part, the second connection part is advanced to the second cylinder device and connected to the third connection part, and the paint or the cleaning fluid is supplied from the supply valve part. To be
A paint supply system characterized by that. The paint supply system according to claim 1,
In addition to a connection path between the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device, a cleaning unit that is connected to the first cylinder device and supplies cleaning fluid to the first cylinder device after application of the paint by the application unit. A paint supply system characterized by comprising. The paint supply system according to claim 1 ,
A plurality of the first cylinder device and the application unit are disposed,
During the application of the paint by at least one application part, the first connection part for supplying the paint to the other application part is connected to the second connection part, and the paint is applied from the second cylinder device to the first cylinder device. A paint supply system characterized in that The paint supply system according to claim 2 ,
When the paint applied first by the application unit and the paint applied next are different,
The first cylinder device is cleaned by supplying the cleaning fluid from the cleaning unit after applying the paint by the application unit,
During the application of the paint by the application unit, the second cylinder device is supplied with the cleaning fluid from the supply valve unit to be cleaned, and then supplied with the paint to be applied next. Characteristic paint supply system. The paint supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The second cylinder device includes a cylinder that extends in a cylindrical shape, a drive piston that is movably provided in the cylinder, and that is connected to a drive source attached to the cylinder. A follower piston movably provided on the drive piston, a second connection part that is provided on the opposite side of the drive source from the drive source and that is detachably connected to the first connection part, and a through passage that is open to the follower piston. And a supply valve connected to the supply valve unit for filling the paint between the drive piston, the driven piston, and the drive source for pushing back the drive piston,
After the paint is filled between the drive piston and the driven piston, the drive piston is pushed by the drive source, and the pressing force of the drive piston is transmitted to the driven piston through the filled paint. Thus, the driven piston and the second connection part move forward,
After the second connecting portion is connected to the first connecting portion, the charged paint is supplied from the second connecting portion to the first connecting portion by pushing the driving piston by the driving source. A paint supply system characterized by that. A paint supply method for supplying a coating material to the coating unit for coating the object to be coated paint with relatively moved relative to the object to be coated,
An application step of supplying the coating material to the application unit from the first cylinder device that moves together with the application unit, and applying the coating material to the object to be coated from the application unit;
A primary supply step of supplying a coating material to be applied next from the supply valve unit to the second cylinder device in a state where the connection between the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device is released during the application step;
A connecting step of connecting the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device;
A secondary supply step of supplying a coating material to be applied next from the second cylinder device to the first cylinder device;
The connecting step includes
A paint filling step of filling paint between the driving piston and the driven piston of the second cylinder device;
A second connection in which the second connecting portion provided in the driven piston moves forward by pressing the driving piston with a driving source and transmitting the pressing force from the driving piston to the driven piston through the filled paint. Part advance process,
The driving piston is continuously pushed by the driving source, and the second connecting portion is connected to the first connecting portion connected to the first cylinder device, and includes a connecting portion connecting step.
In the secondary supply step, the filled paint is pushed out from the second connection portion by further pushing the drive piston with the drive source.
A paint supply method characterized by the above. The paint supply method according to claim 6 , wherein
During the period from the primary supply step to the connection step, the first cylinder device is cleaned from the cleaning unit connected to the first cylinder device separately from the connection path of the first cylinder device and the second cylinder device. A paint supply method comprising a coating-side cleaning step of supplying a fluid.

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