Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
- 1327~99
` TITLE OF THE INVENTION
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PAINTING OBJECT
` BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates a method of and an
apparatus for painting an object, and more particularly to
a method of and an apparatus for painting an inner surface
and outer surfaces such as side and upper surfaces of an
automotive vehicle body without paint coat irregularties
and efficiently within a small space, so that painted
products of high quality can be obtained.
Automobile industry in recent years employs
j highly automated line production processes for efficiently
ss-producing automobile products. ~o meet desired
mass-production requirements, there are used assembling
apparatus for assembling individual parts and conveyor
apparatus for conveying components to respective working
j positions. Painting apparatus for painting automcbile
I bodies are also automatized.
Various methods have heretofore been employed for
¦ automatically painting automobile bodies. According to one
known painting method, for example, an automotive vehicle
body is conveyed by a conveyor apparatus, and sprays of
paint are applied from a plurality of paint spray guns to ;
qide panels, an engine hood, a roof, and a t~unk lid of the
vehicle body as it is conveyed, so that tbe vehicle body
will be painted. ~
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In the above painting method, however, the
vehicle body tends to vibrate while it is being conveyed,
with the result t hat a desired paint coating will not be
applied accurately but paint coat irregularities will
result. Vehicle body painting is one of critical
requirements for determining the quality of completed
automobiles. Automobiles with paint coat irregularities or
defects cannot be sold in the market. Automotive vehicle
bodies with such a defective coating must be painted again
~ to mend the paint deect.
i~ Should a vehicle body being conveyed while a
paint coat is being applied be positionally displaced as
well as vibrated/ a paint d~fec-t will also arise.
Therefore, vehicle bodies must be fixed .n position with
respect to the conveyor apparatus, but the procedure for
securing the vehicle bodies against vibration and
positional displacement is tedious and time-consuming.
Another painting method which h~s been used keeps
an automotive vehicle body at rest in a painting position
and displaces a painting apparatus with a plurality of
paint spray guns with respect to the vehicle body for
coating the same. The paint spray quns are arranged in an
inverted U-shaped pattern so that they confront the side
panels and upper panel of the vehicle body. More
specifically, the inverted U-shaped paintin~ apparatus
includes two side painting mechanisms located on opposite
sides and each having a plurality of paint spray guns, and
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an upper painting mechanism located on the upper side and
` having a plura:Lity of paint spray guns directed downwardly.
The upper and side painting mechanisms are displaced in
unison by a conveyor mechanism with respect to the vehicle
body, and a paint coating is applied all over the vehicle
body by the paint spray guns.
owever, since the upper and side painting mechanisms
are moved in unison with respect to the vehicle body, a
complex process is required for controlling the upper and
side paintinq mechanisms. More specifically, the upper and
side panels of the vehicle body to be painted are of ~-
i different surface areas, and the upper panel surface lies
substantially horizontally whereas the side panel surfaces
are inclined considerably with respect to the vertical
direction. In order to paint the upper and side panel
surfaces appropriately, ~herefore, the spray guns must be
mo~ed at different speQds, and painting conditions such as
the rates at which the paint is delivered from the spray
guns must be different from painting mechanism to painting
m~chanism. ~ith the conventional inverted U-shaped
painting appar~tus, since the upper and side painting
mQch~ni~ms are moved at the same speed, the coating film on
the upper p~nel surface of the vehicle body tends to be of
a small thickness, or paint run~ and saqs are apt to be
produced on the side panel surfaces. Therefore, the rates
of discharge of the pzlint from the spray guns should
carefully be controlled. ~`~
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Where the upper and side painting mechanisms are moved
together, the spray guns in the uppermoist position on the
side painting mechanisms and those at the ends of the upper
painting mechanism spray the paint in very close areas, and
hence the paint sprays from these spray guns interfere with
each other. In electrostating painting where paint is
applied under electrostatic forces, the paint particles are
electrostatically repelled from each other, resulting in a
greater tendency of paint spray interference. Moreover,
the paint coat is apt to have different thicknesses which
will have to be uniformized by re-painting. Thus, the
entire painting procQdure is complex, making it difficult
to accomplish an efficient au~omobile production process.
SUNMARY OF THE INVENl~ION
n accordance with the invention there is provided
a system for painting an inner surface, an outer side surface,
and an outer upper surface of an ob~ect, comprising:
a painting line composed of a plurality of
painting stages for paintinq the respective surfaces of the
ob~act, and a conveyor ~echanism for transferring the
ob~ct, said painting stagQs having ~orking components for
painting said surfaceQ, respectivQly, of the ob~ect and
component controllers for controlling said working
components, reip~ctively; ~;
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stage master controllers associated re~pectively
with said painting stages, said component controller~ being
connected to said stage master controller~, respectively;
and a line master controller associated with said painting
line and connected to said stage master controllers for
controlling operation of said conveyor mechanism and
transferring information indicative of the type of the
object and a paint color to be coated to said stage master
controllers in synchronism with operation timing of said
conveyor mechanism, said stage master controllers being
operable in synchron~sm with the operation timing of said
conveyor mechanism for transferring said information to
said component
controllers, Qaid component controllers being operable to
execute a predetermined operation sequence based on said
information for operating said working components to paint
tha ob~ect.
The line master controller may be operable in
synchronism ~ith ~tarting of ~aid conveyor mechanism for
tr~nsforring said information to said stage master
controllQr, s~id stage master controllers being operable in
synchronism ~ith arrival of tho ob~ect to said painting
~tages for ~ran~fQrring said information to said component
controllers.
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Each of the component controllers may comprise a
painting robot controller and a painting controller which
are operable b~sed on said information for executing a
predetermined painting sequence upon completion of
positioning of the object at the painting stages thereby to
operate said working components to paint the object.
Each of the component controllers may further
3 include an opening/closing controller operable based on
said information for executing a predetermined opening
s sequence upon completion of positioning of the ob~ect at
the painting stages thereby to operate said working
components, to open a prescribed portion of the object, and
then to apply an opening completion signal to said painting
robot controller and saicl painting controllar.
The painting robot controller may apply a closing
command to said opening/closing controller upon completion
of painting operation by the working component, said
op ning/closing controller being responsive to receipt of
saild closing command for operating ~aid working component
to clo~e ~he prescribed portion of the ob~ect.
! ` The line mast~r controller is arranged to receivet statu~ signals from said conveyor mechanism, each of saidpalnting st~ges, each of said stagQ master controller~,
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-` 1327699
each of said component controllers, and each of said
working components, and to issue signals indicative of
operating and abnormal conditions thereof to a monitor
device for thPreby monitoring the painting line.
`~ Each of said painting stages may include at least
a painti~g ~tage for opening and closing a pre~cribed
portion of the object and painting an inner surface of the
~` ob~ect, and a painting stage for painting an outer surface
of the ob~ect.
The painting stages may furthar include a drying
stage for drying a paint coat on the ob~ect.
`j~ The above and other ob~ects, features and
advantages of the present invention will become more
apparent from the follo~ing description when taken in
1 con~unction with the accompanying drawings in which
preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by
way of illustrative example.
`~
BRIBF DBSCRIPTION OF ~HE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan vie~ of a painting line
~ according to the preQent invention;
; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a painting control
system according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 i~ a plan view of a painting apparatus of `
the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the
palnting apparatu- of the present invention
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13276g~
FIG. S is a cross-sectional view of a transport
means in the painting apparatus;
FIG. 6 is an elevational view, partly in cross
section, of an upper painting mechanism of the painting
apparatus;
FIG. 7 is an elevational view, partly in cross
section, of a side painting mechanism of the painting
, apparatus;
~ FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a drive control
~ system for the upper painting mechanism; ~ -
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FIG. 9 is ,a block diagram of a drive control system
for the side painting mechanism;
FIG. 10 is a side elevational view showing the manner
in which an upper vahicle body portion is painted by the
~ upper painting mechanism;
-~ FIG. 11 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a
cleaning device according to the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a
` cleaning tank of the cleaning device;
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line
XIII - XIII of FIG. 1~; `
FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a control sequence of the
painting control system;
~ FIG. 15 is a plan view of a painting apparatus for
! carrying out a painting method according to the present
i` in~ention;
FIG. 16 is a side elevational view, partly in cross
~ section, of the painting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 15;
,~ FIG. 17 is an enlarged ViQW of paint spray guns of the
painting spparatus;
FIG. 18 is a view showing the manner in which an
automotive vehicle body is painted by the painting
appar~tus; `
FI&. 19 is a plan view of the painting apparatus
according to another ~bodiment for carrying out the
painting method of the invention;
" 1327699
- FIG. 20 i5 a side elevational view, partly in cross
section, of a painting apparatus of the invention and a
holder mechanism incorporated therein;
FIG. 21 is a view of the holder mechanism mounted in a
side painting mechanism of the painting apparatus;
-` FIG. 22 is a fragmentary perspective view of the
holder mechanism; and
FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along line
: XXIII - XXIII of FIG. 21.
DETAIL~D D~SCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODINENTS
FIG. 1 shows a painting line 10 for painting
automotive vehicle bodies, the painting line 10 being
divided into ~ firs~ painting stage 10a, a second painting
stage 10b, a third paint.ing stage 10c, and a fourth
` painting stage 10d for painting respective different areas
or surfaces of the vehicle bodies.
In the first painting stage 10a, the engine
compartment and trunk compartment of each of the vehicle
boclies 14 are painted. The first painting stage 10a
includes painting mechan~sms 18a through 18d movably
mounted on rails 16a, 16b disposed on opposite sides of ~he
first painting stage 10a. The first painting ~tage 10a
also includes an engine hood opening/closing mechanism 20
and a trunk lid opening/closlng mechanism 22. The painting
line 20 inclucdes a vehicle body conveyor mechanism 24
extending centrally from the first to fourth painting
stages 10a through 10cl.
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In the second painting stage lOb, the inner surfaces
of doors of each vehicle body 14 are painted. The second
painting stage lOb includes painting mechanisms 28a, 28b
movably mounted respectively on rails 26a, 26b disposed on
opposite sides of the second painting stage lOb.
Additional rails 30a, 30b are disposed between the vehicle
body conveyor mechanism 24 and the rails 26a, 26b, and door
opening/closing mechanisms 32a, 32b are movably mounted on
the rails 30a, 30b, respectively.
In the third painting stage lOc, the outer panels
including the engine hood, trunk lid, roof, and doors of
each vehicle body 14 are painted. A painting apparatus 12
is disposed in the third painting stage lOc for painting
these outer panels, and comprises rails 34a, 34b disposed
parallel to each other on the opposite sides of the vehicle
body conveyor mechanism 24, an upper painting mechanism 36
and a lefthand side painting mechanism 38 which are movable
along the rail 34a, and a righthand side painting mechanism
40 ~ovable along the rail 34b. The third painting ~tage
lOc includes cleaning devices 336, 338, 340 for cleaning
paint spray guns of the painting mechanisms 36, 38, 40 when
paint colors are to be changed. In this embodiment, the
upper painting mechanism 36 is movable along the rail 34a.
However, as shown in FIG. 3, another rail 34c may be
disposad outside of the rail 34a, and the upper painting
mechanism 36 may be movably diqposed on the rail 34c for
travel independent of the lefthand side painting mechanism
38.
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In the fourth stage 30d, the painted vehicle body 14
is dried. In the first through third painting ~tages lOa -
lOc, the electrostatic painting process is employed in
which the paint is electrostatically applied to the vehicle
bodies.
The painting line 10 is controlled by a painting
control system 400. The painting control system 400 is
mainly composed of a line master controller 410 for
controlling the overall painting system, and stage master
controllers 412a, 412b, 412c for controlling the first
through third painting stages lOa - lOc, respectively. The
stage master controller 412a, which controls the first
painting stage lOa, is connected to an opening/closing
controller 420 for controlling the engine hood
opening/closing mechanism 20 and the trunk lid
opening~closing mechanism 22, and a painting robot
controller 422 and a painting controller 424 for
controlling the painting mechanisms 18a through 18d. The
stage master controller 412b, which controls the second
painting stage lOb, is connected to an opening/closing
controller 430 for controlling the door opening/closing
mechanisms 32a, 32b, and a painting robot controller
432 and a painting controller 434 for controlling the
painting mechanisms 28a, 28b. The stage master
controller 412c, which controls the third painting stage
lOc, is connected to a painting robot controller 442
and a painting controller 444 for-
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controlling the painting mechanisms 36, 38, 40 and the
cleaning devices 336, 338, 340.
These stage master controllers 912a through 412c
are coupled to the line master controller 410 and
reSponsive to commands issued therefrom for controlling the
painting operation in the respective painting stages 10a
through 10c. The stage master controllers 412a through
412c also deliver prescribed status information to the line
master controller 410. To the line master controller 410,
there is also connècted a monitor device 414 for monitoring
various portions of the painting line. The vehicle body
conveyor mechanism 24 is controlled by the line master
controller 410 for conveying vehicle bodies 14 to be
, painted and positioning them in the respective painting
i stages. Commands are transferred to the stage mastercontrollers 412a through 412c in synchronism with operation
timing of the conveyor mechanism 24.
3 The line master controller 410 is notified of
accidents or other abnormal conditions such as a fire in
the paintiDg stages 10a through 10c, and controls the
monitor de~ice 414 to indicate such an accident.
Operation of the painting control system will be
described below.
A vehicle body 14 which has been delivered to the
first stage 10a by the conveyor mechanism 24 is first
accessed by the engine hood opening/closing mechanism 20,
which opens the engine hood, and by the trunk lid opening/
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closing mechanism 22, which opens the trunk lid. The
engine compartlment and the trunk compartment are then
painted by the painting mechanisms 18a through 18d which
run along the rails 16a, 16b. Thereafter, the engine hood
and the trunk lid are closed by the respective
opening/closing mechanisms 20, 22, and then the vehicle
body 14 is conveyed to the second stage lOb by the conveyor
mechanism 24.
In the second stage lOb, the doors of the vehicle body
i 14 are opened by the door opening/closing mechanisms 32a,
32b, and the inner surfaces of the opened doors are painted
by the painting mechanisms 28a, 28b which travel along the
rails 26a, 26b. The doors are thereafter closed by the
door opening~closing mechanisms 32a, 32b, and the vehicle
body 14 is fed to the third stage lOc by the conveyor
t mechanism 24.
In the third ~tage lOc, the upper, lefthand and
righthand side painting mechani~ms 36, 38, 40 are
positioned in front of th~ vehicle body 14 which ha3 been
dolivered from thQ second stage lOb.
When the vQhiclo body 14 is positioned in the third
stage lOc, the upper, lQfthsnd and righthand side painting
mschanisms 36, 38, 40 run along the rails 34a, 34b while
painting the englnQ hood, the roof, the trunk lid, and the
side panels of thQ vehicle body 14. The vehicle body 14
which has been painted i~ then fed by the conveyor
mechanism 14 to th~ fourth stage lOd where the vehicle body
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13276~
14 is dried.
The line master controller 410 controls the operation
of the conveyor mechanism 24, and supplies th~ stage master
controllers 412a through 412c with various items of command
information as to a vehicle type and a paint color, for
example, in timed relation to the operation of the conveyor
mechanism 24 to start delivering the vehicle body 14. In
synchronism with the t~ming when the vehicle body is
brought by the conveyor mechanism 24 to the painting stages
lOa through lOc, the stage master controllers 412a through
412c supply the command information as to the vehicle type,
the paint color, and the like to working component
controller such as the opening/closing controllers 420,
430, the painting robot controllers 422, 432, 442, and the
painting controllers 424,, 434, 444 to indicate the starting
of operation of the painting stages lOa through lOc. The
working component controllers then use the command
information as keys for effecting a pr~set operation
sequence (processing program) thereby to control the
working components. The opening/closing controller 420
opens or closes the engine hood opening/closing mechanism
20 and the trunk lid opening/closing mechanism 22, which
are working~components, in a pr~scribed order and at
prescribed timing. Similarly, the opening/closing
controller 430 op~n~ or closes the door opening/closing
mechanisms 32a, 32b in a prescribed order and at prescribed
timing.
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132~699
; The paintin~ robot controllers 422, 432, 442 execute
the prescribed processing program based on the indicated
vehicle type, etc., for controlling the operation of the
painting mechanisms 18a through 18d, 28a, 28b, 36, 38, 40,
and applying painting commands to the painting controllers
424, 434, 444, which responds to the indicated paint color
for controlling the rate of discharge of the paint, the
rate of discharge of air, and the electrostatic voltage for
the painting mechanisms 18a - 18d, 28a, 28b, 36, 38, 40.
When a command is given to change paint colors, the
painting controllers effect a cleaning process for the
painting mechanisms.
-~ The line master controller 410 receives ctatus signals
from the conveyor mechanism 24, the painting stages lOa
through lOd, the stage master controllers 412a through
412c, the working component controllers (the
opening/closing controller 420 and others), and the working
components (such as the trunk lid opening/closing mechanism
20, the painting mechanism 36, and the like)~ and issues
information as to operating and abnormal conditions of the
control system to the monitor device 414. Thus, the line
master controller 410 monitors the operating condition of
the painting line, controls painting conditions, effects
failure diagnoses, periodic inspections, and collects or
issues production cont:rol information.
The painting line according to the present invention
i~ ba~ically arranged and operated as described :~
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1327699
above. The paintin~ mechanisms in the third stage lOc, for
example, will be described in greater detail.
In the third stage lOc, the upper paintinq
mechanism 36, the lefthand side painting mechanism 38, and
the righthand side painting mechanism 40 are moved along
the rails 34a, 34b by transport means which are of
essentially the same design. More specifically, as shown
in FIG. 5, the rails 34a, 34b are constituted by a rail
bracket 42 extending from one end to the other of the rails
34a, 34b. To the upper surface of the rail bracket 42,
there are fixed spacers 44a, 44b with rails 48a, 48b
secured to their upper surfaces by means of bolts 46. A
r~k 52 is attached to a vertical outer side of the rail
br~cket 42 by a support member 50, the rack 52 e~tending
parallel to the rail 48a. Two vertical posts 54a, 54b are
mounted on tke ~pper surface of the rail bracket 42, and a
protective cov2r 56 having an inverted channel-shaped cross
section is fi~ed to ehe upper ends of the posts 54a, 54b.
The prot ctive cover 56 extends along the rails 48a, 48b.
The protecti~ cover 56 ha~ laterally spaced depending legs
56a, 56b pro~acting downwardly and spaced from the sides of
t~e rail~ ~a, 48b by prescribed gaps.
The upper, lefthand and righthand side painti~g
~echaDisms 36, 38, 40 have outer frames comp~ising ca~ings
58a through 58c with a plate 60 secured to the lower end
thereof. Side plates 62a, 62b are vertically affixed to
the opposite edges of the lower surface of the plate 60. A
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1327693
support member 64 is secured to the lower end of the ~ide
plate 62a, and a transport motor 66 is fixed to the lower
end of the support member 64. The transport motor 66 has a
rotatable shaft 68 supporting on its distal end a pinion 70
meshing with the rack 52 fixed to the rail bracket 42.
A roller assembly ~2a is mounted on the upper end of
the support member 64. The roller assembly 72a comprises a
roller 74 held in rolling engagement with the upper surface
~3 of the rail 48a, a pair of rollers 78a, ?8b supported on a
-~ plate 76 fixed to the roller assembly 72a and rollingly
held against the opposite sides of the rail ~8a, and a
roller 80 held in rolling contact with the lower surface of
the rail ~8a. Another roller assembly 72b is mounted on
the side plate 62a by a support member 82. The roller
assembly 72b comprises a roller 86 rotatably supported on a
shaft 84 and held in rolling engagement with the upper
surface of the rail 48b, and a roller 88 held in rolling
contact ~ith the lower surface of the rail 48b.
The upper painting mechanism 36 will be described -`
below. As ~ho~n is FIGS. 4 and 6, a vertical ball screw 90
i~ rotatably supported in the casing 58a and has an upper
end coupled~to tho drive shaft of a lifting/lowering motor
` 92 mounted on the upper surface of the casing 58a as a
3, painting distance ad~usting means. Four guide rods 94a
through 94d are dispo~3ed vertically parallel to each other
around the ball screw 90. A horizontal support plate 96 is
t~readedly dispo~3ed around and held in me~3h with the ball
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1327~99
screw 90 and can be moved upwardly and downwardly by
rotating the ball screw 90 about its own axis upon
energization of the lifting/lowering motor 92. The guide
rods 94a - 94d extend through the support plate 96.
As shown in FIG. 6, a turning motor 100 is fixed to
the upper surface of the support plate 96 via a holder 98.
The turning motor 100 has a rotatable shaft 102 on which a
gear 10~ is mounted. The holder 98 holds therein a bearing
106 supporting a turning shaft 108 having one end on which
is mounted a gaar 110 meshing with the gear 104. The other
end of the turning shaft 108 pro~ects out of the casing
58a, and one end of the swing arm 112 is secured to the
pro~ecting end of the tuîning shaft 108.
A shifting cylinder 114 is disposed as a shifting
means on the other end of the swing arm 112. The shifting
cylinder 114 has a piston rod 116 extending horizontally in
transverse relation to the rails 34a, 34b. A fixed shaft
118 having one end secured to thQ swing arm 112 is disposed
loosely around the piston rod 116. A cylindrical slide
sleeve 122 is slidably fitted over the fixed shaft 118
through slidQ bearings 120a, 120b interposed therebetween.
Splines 116a are formed on the distal end of the piston rod
116. A guide member 124 fixed to the other end of the
fixed sha~t 118 is sl~dably fitted over the splines 116a.
One end of the spline~ 116a are affixed to one end of the
slidQ slQeve 122. Be1~ween the other end of the slide
sleeve 122 and the swing arm 112, there is mounted an
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expandable and contractable bellows-like cover member 126
for preventing paint deposits from being applied to the
; fixed shaft 118.
A horizontal gun arm 132 is coupled to the outer
periphery of the slide sleeve 122 through support members
128, 130. Clamp members 134a through 134d are fastened to
the horizontal gun arm 132 in spaced relation to each
other. Gun support bars 136a through 136d are held by the
clamp members 134a through 134d, respectively,
perpendicularly to the horizontal gun arm 132. Paint spray
guns 140a through 140d are secured as paint spraying means
respsctivQly to the lower ends of the gun support bars 136a
through 136d via respectively ~oin~s 138a through 138d, the -
paint spray guns 140a through 140d being spaced from each
other. To the paint spray guns 140a thorugh 140d, there
are connected to paint conduit cables 142a thorugh 142d for
supplying a paint to the associated paint spray guns.
The lefthand and righthand side painting mechanisms
38, 40 ssrve to paint the lefthand and righthand sides,
` respectively, of the vehicle body 14, and are of basically
t the same construction. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7,
vertical posts 144a, 144b are dispo~,ed in each of the
casings 58b, 58c of the lsfthand and righthand side ~ `
painting mechanisms 38, 40~ Two guide bars 146a, 146b
extend horizontally b~etween and are connected to the posts
` 144a, 144b in perpendicular relation to the rails 34a, 34b,
i and a holder 148 is slidably mounted on the guide bars
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146a, 146b. E~:pandable and contractable cover members
150a, 150b are disposed around the guide bars 146a, 146b
between the holder 148 and the post 144~. A horizontally
moving cylinder 152 is fixed to the holder 148 and has a
piston rod (not shown) with its distal end connected to the
post 144b through a joint 154.
A shifting guide bar 158 extends vertically through
and is slidably supported in the holder 148 by means of
slide bearings 156a, 156b. Expandable and contractable
cover members 160a, 160b are disposed around the upper and
lower end portions of the shifting guide bar 158 which
pro~ect from the hol~er 148. A ~oint 162 is attached to
the lower end of the shifting guid~ bar 158. A shifting
cylinder 16~ is fixed as a shifting means to the outer
periphery of the holder 148 through a support member 166,
and ha~ a downwardly extending pi~ton rod 168 coupled to
the ~oint 162 through a guide member 170 affixed to the
holder 148. An expandable and contractable cover mamber
172 is dispo~ed areund the piston rod 168 between the guide
membQr 170 and the ~oint 162.
A holder 174 i~ coupled to the ~hifting guide bar 158
at its upper and lower ends. ~ gun arm 178 is supported on
the holder 174 through support member~ 176a, 176b. To the
gun arm 178, there are attached paint spray guns 182a
through 182d as paint spraying means by means of ~oints
180a through 180d, resipectively, the paint spray guns 182a
through 182d being spaced from each other. The paint spray
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guns 182a through 182d are positioned in a vertical pattern
which is shaped complementarily to a side panel of the
vehicle body 14.
The painting apparatus thus constructed is operated by
a drive control system which is arranged as shown in FIG.
8.
As sho~n in FIG. 8, a control until 184 issues a
control signal which has previously been established as by
a teaching process, for controlling operation of the upper
painting mechanism 36. The upper painting mechanism 36 is
driving by a hydraulic ~ervo system comprising a hydraulic
until 186 in the form of a fluid pressure pump or the like,
< ser~ovalves 188a throuqh 188c, servoamplifiers l90a through
l90c responsive to the control signal from the control
until 184 for driving the servovalves 188a through 188c,
and a hydraulic motor. ``
The hydraulic motor comprises the transport motor 66
for moving the upper paintin~ mechanism 36 along ~he rail
34a, the lifting/lowering motor 92 for moving the swing arm
112 with the paint spray guns 140a through 140d in a
vQrtical direction, and the turning motor 100 for turning
j the swing arm 122 around the turning shaft 108. The
rotational speQd of the transport motor 66 is detected
by a potentiometer 194a throuqh a ~peed reducer 192a and
fed as a positional signal indicative of the position of
the upper paintin~ mechani~m 36 with respect to the rail
34a back to the servoamplifier l90a. Similarly, the
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rotational speed of the lifting/lowering motor 92 is
detected by a potentiometer 194b through a speed reducer
192b and fed as a positional signal indicative of the
position of the swing arm 112 with respect to the vertical
direction back to the servoamplifier l90b. The rotational
speed of the turning motor 100 is detected by a
potentiometer 194c through a speed reducer 192c and fed as
a til~ signal back to the servoamplifier l90c at the time
the swing arm 112 is tilted around the swing arm 108.
As shown in FIG. 9, the lefthand and riqhthand side
pain~ing mechani~ms 38, 40 are driven by a hydraulic servo
system comprising a hydraulic unit 196, servovalves 198a,
198b, servoamplifiers 200a, 200b, a hydraulic motor, and a
hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic servo system is also
controlled by the control unit 184 which is shared by the
drive control system for the upper painting mechanism 36.
Th~ rotational speed of the transport motor 66 as the
hydraulic motor is detec~ted by the potentiometer 204a
through a speed reducer 202 and fed as a positional signal
indicativ~ of the position of the lefthand and righthand
side painting mechanisms 38, 40 with respect to the rails
34a, 34b back to the servoamplifier 200a. The amount of
di_placement of the horizontally moving cylinder 152 as the
hydraulic cylinder is detected by the potentiometer 204b
and fed as a positional _ignal indicative of the poQition
of the paint Qpray guns 182a through 182d with respect to
the vehicle body 14 back to the servoamplifier 200b.
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132769~
The cleaning devices 336, 338, 400 will hereinafter be
described.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the cleaning device or
upper painting gun cleaning mechanism 336 includes a base
342 and a body 344 vertically movably and swingably mounted
on the base 342. Support rods 346a, 346b have one ends
attached to an upper portion of the body 344 and extend ~
horizontally parallel to each other. The support rods -
346a, 346b s~pport thereon cleaning tanks 348a through 348d
which are spaced from each other in vertical alignment with
the paint spray guns 140a through 140d, respectively, of
the upper painting mechanism 36.
Since the cleaning tanks 348a through 348d are of the
same construction, only the cleaning tank 348a will be
described below in detail and the other cleaning tanks 348b
through 348d will not be dascribed.
As shown in FIG. 12, the cleanin~ tank 348a has a base
plate 350 having support members 352a through 352b engaging
the support rods 346a, 346b from which the cleaning tank
343a is suspended. The base plate 350 has a relatively
large circular opening 354 defined centrally therein.
Flexible cover members 356a, 356b are fixed to the base
plate 350 over the opening 354. The cover members 356a,
356b are of the same shape and have central holes 358a,
358b, respectively, which are of a diameter smaller than
that of no~zles 240a t.hrough 240d of the paint spray guns
140a though 140d. The cover members 356a, 356b have
`,
-24-
,
.
' ' `,~
132769~
slits (not shown) extending radially outwardly from the
centers of the holes 358a, 358b and spaced from each other.
The flexible cover members 356a, 356b are placed one on the
other and fixed to the base plate 350 with the slits not
overlapping each other.
As shown in FIG. 13, support bars 360a through 360d
have one ends secured to the surface of the base plate 350
remote from the support members 352a through 352d, the
support bars 360a through 360d surrounding the opening 354
and being eguidistantly spaced from each other. Another
support bar 362 has one end secured to the base plate 350
between the support bars 360c, 360d. Holders 364a through
364d are attached to the other ends of the support bars
360a through 360d, respectively, and cleaning guns 366a
through 366d are mounted respectively on the holders 364a
through 364d. The cleaning guns 366a through 366d have
nozzle ends 368a through 368d inclined toward the base
plate 350 and directed to the central axis of the opening
354. A support bar 370 is porpendicularly coupled to the ~-
other end of the support bar 362, and a holder 372 is
mount~d on th~ ~upport bar 370. A cleaning gun 374 is
mounted on thQ holder 37~ and ha~ a nozzle end 376 directed
to~ard the opening 354 in alignment with the central axis
thereof.
A casing 378 is detachably mounted on the base pla~e
350 by mQans of bolts, for example, defining a cleaning
chamber 380 therein. The cleaning chamber 380 is
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. .
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held in communication, through the lower end of the
casing 378, with a small-diameter drain/mi~t outlet 382.
In FIG. 11, a conduit 384 is connected to the outlets
382 of the cleaning tanks 384a through 348d, and attached
to the body 344 for vertical and turning movement in unison
therewith. To the conduit 384, there is connected one end
of a flexible conduit 386 with its other end coupled to a
separation tank 388. The separation tank 388 has a mist
conduit 390 on its upper portion and i5 connected at its
lower portion to a drain conduit 392 which is connected to
a pump 393, for example, that is coupled to a drain
processing unit (not shown).
The other cleaning devices or side paint spray gun
i cleaning mechanisms 338r 340 are structurally identical to
each other. ~herefore, only the side paint spray gun
c cleaning mechanism 338 will be described below in detail.
The cleaning mechanism 338 includes a base 394 on
which a po~t 396 i~ vertically mounted. The post 396 has
~ holders 398a through 398d extending horizontally at
¦ dif~erQnt haightQ. Cleaning tanks 300a through 300d are
~upportad on ~he holder~ 398a through 398d, respectively,
in horizontal alignment with the respective paint Rpray
! guns 182a through 182d of thQ lefthand ~ide painting3I mechani~m 38. The cleaning tank~ 300b, 300d are fixed to
the holder~ 398b, 398d, raspectively, whereas the other
clQaning tanks 300a, 300c are horizontally displaceable.
Nora specifically, cle,aning tank shifting cylinder~ 302a,
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302b are horizontally mounted on the post 396 in vertically
spaced relation to each other, and have respective piston
rods 304a, 304b extending horizontally and coupled to the
cleaning tanks 300a, 300c, respectively.
The cleaning tanks 300a through 300d are structurally
substantially the same as the cleaning tank 348a. ~he
cleaning tanks 300a through 300d have casings 306 on which
there are mounted support members 307a through 307d by
which the cleaning tanks 300a through 300d are suspended
` from the holders 398a, 398d and the piston rods 304a, 304b.
F The internal structures of the cleaning tanks 300a through
, 300d are the same as that of the cleaning tank 348a, and
t hence will not be described in detail.
- The casings 306 of the cleaning tanks 300a through
300d are connected at their lower ends to drain/mist
conduits 30a that are coupled via a conduit 310 to a
separation tank 312 which has a mist conduit 314 and is
~oined to a drain conduit 316.
The detailed construction of th~ third painting stage `~
10c is as described above. Operation of the third painting
istage 10c i~ a~ followJs
In the third painting stage 10c, the upper painting
mechanism 36, the lefthand sidQ painting mechanism 38,
and the righthand _id~ painting mechaniQm 40 are
po8itioned in front oiE the vehicle body 14 in a waiting
- condition. On the upper painting mechanism 36, the
lifting/lowering motor 92 i-Q operated to rotate the ball
':.
132769~
screw 90 to lower the swing arm 112 from the position of
FIG. 4 in the direction of the arrow A. At the same time,
the turning motor 100 is operated to turn the swing arm 112
about the turning shaft 108 in the direction of the arrow
B. The paint spray guns 140a through 140d mounted by the
slide sleeve 122 on the end portion of the swing arm 112
are now oriented toward the front head of the vehicle 14,
as shown in FIG. 3.
A painting process effected by the upper painting
mechanism 36 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 8
and 10. When a conerol signal is issued from the control
unit 184, the servoamplifier l90a is controlled by the
control signal to operate the servovalve 188a. A fluid
under pressure supplied from the hydraulic unit 186 is
delivered through the servovalve 188a to drive the
transport motor 66. As a result, the pinion 70 mounted on
the rotatable shaft 68 o~ the transport motor 66 is rotated
to cause the upper painting mechanism 36 to start running
with the roller assemblies 72a, 72b along the rails 48a,
48b in the direction of the arrow C.
The rotational speed of the transport motor 66,
i.e., the a~ount of movement of the upper painting
mechanism 36, is detec~ed by the potentiometer 194a through
the speed red~cer 192a. When the spacing between the front
end of the vehicle body 14 and the paint spray guns 140a
through 140d of the uplper painting mechanism 36 reaches a
prescribed distance, the potentiometer 194a applies a
-28-
positional sig:nal to the servoamplifier l90a which then
control~ the t:ranqport motor 66 through the servovalve
188a. As a consequence, the distance between the front end
of the vehicle body 14 and the paint spray guns 140a
through 140d is kept constant.
Then, the servoamplifier l90b operates the servovalve
188b based on a control signal from the control unit 184,
for enabling the fluid under pressure from the hydraulic
unit 186 to drive the lifting/lowering motor 92 through the
servovalve 188b. Consequently, the ball screw 90 coupled
to the motor 92 is rotated to cause the support plate 96
meshing with the ball screw gO to start lifting the swing
arm 112 in the direction of the arrow ~ Paint sprays are
e~ected from the paint spray guns 140a through 140d toward
the front end of the vehicle body 14 ~o paint the front end
along a paint line a IFIG. 10).
The paint spray guns 140a through 140d are spaced at
intervals so as to prQvQnt the e~ected paint sprays from
interfering ~ith each other. Therefore, ehe surface of the
front end of the vehicle body 14 i-~ coated with spaced
strips of paint as shown in FIG. 3.
After tha front end has been painted and when the
paint ~pray~guns 140a through 140d reach the boundary
betwaan thQ front end and the enginQ hood, the
sQrvoamplifier l90c operatQs the servovalve 188c in
response to a control signal from thQ control unit 184 for
enabling the fluicl undQr pressurQ from the hydraulic unit
13276~
186 to drive th,e turning motor 100 through the servovalve
188c. As a consequence, the swing arm 112 is turned about
the turning shaft 108 in the direction of the arrow B by
the gear 110 meshing with the gear 104 mounted on the shaft
102 of the motor 100. The paint spray guns 140a through ,.
140d coupled by the slide sleeve 122 to the swing arm 112
are now directed perpe}ldicularly to the engine hood of the
vehicle body 14.
The angular displacement of the swing arm 112 is
detected by the potentiometer 194c through the speed
reducer 192c. When the paint spray guns 140a through 140d
are directed perpendicularly to the engine hood, the
potentiometer 194c applies a prescribed tilt signal to the
servoamplifier l90c, which controls the turning motor 100
through the servovalve 188c. The paint spray guns 140a
through 140d are now held perpendicularly to the engine
hood of the vehicle body 14.
Then, the upper pai~ting mechanism 36 is driven by the
transport motor 66 along the rail 34a for painting the
engine hood along a painting line b. The vertical position
of the s~ing arm 112 is detected by the potentiometer 194b
uhich detects the rotational speed of the lifting/lowering
motor 92. The potentiometer 194b applie~ a positional
signal to the servoamplifier l90b to enable the latter to
control the lifting/lo~ering motor g2 through the
servovalve 188b. Thus, the swing arm 112 is elevated in
the direction of the arrow D as the upper painting
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- ~ . .
13276~
mechanism 36 advances in the direction of the arrow C, so
that a paint coating of uniform thickness can be applied to
the engine hood while the engine hood and the paint spray .
guns 140a through 140d remain spaced a constant distance
from each other.
Similarly, while the paint spray guns 140a through
140d are being spaced uniformly from the surface of the
vehicle body 14 and directed perpendicularly to the vehicle
body surface, strips of paint are coated on the vehicle
body surface as the upper painting mechanism 36 moves along
painting lines c, d, e and f. Finally, the turning motor
100 is driven to hold the paint spray guns 140a through
140d facing perpendicularly to the rear end of tho vehicle
bod~- 14. Then, while the lifting/lowering motor 92 is
being driven to lower the paint spray guns 140a through
14Qd in the direction of the arrow A, the rear end of the -
vehicle body 14 is coated along a painting line ~.
` The lateral sides o~ the vehicle body 14 are painted
by the lefthand and righ~hand side pàinting mQchanisms 38,
40 as follo~s:
When a control signal is issued from the control unit
184, the servoamplifier 200a (FIG. 9) actuates the
servovalve 198a to enable fluid under pressure from the
hydraulic unit 196 to drive the tran~port motor 66 through
the servovalve 198a. As a result, the lefthand and ~:
righthand side painti~lg mechanisms 38, 40 run along the -~
rails 34a, 34b in the direction of the arrow C (FIG. 3), :;
132769~
while paint sprays are discharged from the paint spray
guns 182a through 182d to coat the lateral side~ of the
vehicle body 14. The paint spray guns 182a through 182d
- are spaced a prescribed distance from the vehicle body 14,
so that strips of paint are coated on the vehicle body
sides without interfering with each other.
The amount of displacement of the lefthand and right-
hand side painting mechanisms 38, 40 in the direction of
the arrow C is detected by the potentiometer 204a through
the speed reducer 202. The distance between each of the
; sides of the vehicle body 14 and the paint spray guns 182a
through lB2d is controlled by the horizontally moving
cylinder 152. More specifically, when a control signal is
generated by the control unit 184, the servoamplifier 200b
operates the servovalve 184b to enable the latter to apply
a fluid under pressure for driving the cylinder 152.
Therefore, the paint spray guns 182a through 182d coupled
3 by the gun arm 178 to the holder 174 are moved in the
direction of the arrow E or F (FIG~ 7). The amount of
mo~ement of the paint spray guns 182a through 182d i~
det~cted by the potentiometer 204b, which then applies a
pre~cribed positional signal to the servoamplifier 200b
that controls the cylinder 152 through the ervovalve
198b. Consequently, the paint ~pray gun~ 182a through 182d
are di~placed in the direction of the arrow E or F as the
lefthand and righthand side painting mechanisms 38, 40 move
in the direction of the arrow C for thereby keeping the
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~ '
:
--` 1327699
: side of the vehicle body 14 and the paint spray guns 182a
through 1~2d spaced a constant distance. Therefore, a
paint coat of unifor~ thickness can be applied to the sides
of the vehicle body 14.
The lefthand and righthand side painting
mechanisms 38, 40 are moved while they are being spaced a
. given distance from the upper painting mechanism 36.
Specifically, as sbwon in FIG. 3, the paint spray gun 140a ..
(FIG. 4) of the upper painting mechanism 36 and the paint
spray gun 182a of the lefthand side painting mechanism 48
are spaced a distance from each oth~r a.t all times, whereas
the paint spray gun 140d of t~e upper painting mechanism 36
; and the paint spray ~wn 182a of the righthand side painting
` mechanism 48 are spaced a dis-tance from each other at all
.. times. By moving the painting mechanisms 36, 38, 40 while
3~ keeping them thus spaced from each other, paiQt sprays
ejected from those paint spray ~uns which are located most
closely to each other are prevented from interfering with
each other. Therefore~ the paint coating on t~e vehicle
bady 14 is free from c~ating irrequlari~ies c~ paint runs
~nd sags w~ich would ot~er~ise re&nlt ~ro~ interf.erenee of ~.
; paint sprays.
The vehicle body 14 is t~us c~ated with strips of
paint as indicated by ~he shaded area~ in FIG_ 3. The
painting mechanisms 36, 38, 40 are mo~ed to tbe position
indicated by the two-dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 3. - .
Then, the shifting cyli~der 164 associated with
~-
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`` 1327699
each of the le.Ethand and righthand side painting mechanisms
38, 40 is driven. The piston rod 168 of the shifting
cylinder 164 is lowered to cause the ~oint 162 to move the
guide bar 158 downwardly in the direction of the arrow A
(FIG. 7.) As a consequence, the paint spray guns 182a
through 182d are shifted to the two-dot-and-dash-line
position in FI~. 7 by the holder 174 supported on the guide
bar 158.
Thereafter, the servoamplifier 200a responds to a
control signal from the control unit 184 to operate the
servovalve 198a for thereby driving the transport motor 66
with a fluid under pressure from the hydraulic unit 196.
The lefthand and righthand side painti~g mechanisms 38, 40
run along the lateral sides of the vehicle body 14 in the
direction of the arrow G while coating the unpainted areas
or strips on the vehicle body sides with paint sprays
e~ected from the paint spray guns 182a through 182d. The
painting mechanisms ~8, 40 return to the solid-line
position sho~n in FIG. 3, ~hereupon they are stopped.
On the upper painting mechanism 36, the shifting
cylinder 11~ (FIG. 6) in the swing arm 112 is driven to
di8place the piston rod 116 thereof in the direction of the
arro~ B. S~nce the end of the piston rod 116 i~ coupled to
the slide sleeve 122, the slide sleeve 122 is displaced
therewith along the fixed shaft 118 dispo3ed around the
piston rod 116. Thus, the pa1nt spray guns 140a through
140d coupled to the slide sleeve 122 by the horizontal gun
_34-
.
132769~
arm 132 are shi.fted to the two-dot-and-dash-line position
shown in FIG. 6.
- Then, the transport motor 66, the lifting/lowering
motor 92, and the turning motor 100 are driven to move the
upper painting mechanism 36 along the rail 34a in the
direction of the arrow G (FIG.3). The unpainted areas or
strips on the upper vehicle body surfac~ are coated by the
paint spray guns 140a through 140d as they are displaced
back along the painting lings g through a until the uppar
painting mechanism 36 returns to the solid-line position of
FIG. 3, whereupon it is put to a stop. At this time, too,
the lefthand and righthand side painting mechanisms 38, 40
and the upper painting mechanism 36 are spaced from each
other to avoid mutual interference of paint sprays
discharged therefrom. ;
After the painting process as above is finished, the
vehicle body 14 is transferred by the conveyor mechanism 24
to the fourth stage lOd where the vehicle body 14 is dried.
In the above embodiment, to prevent the paint sprays
fr~m interfering with each other, tha vehicle body 14 is
coated in a strip-shaped pattern while the paint spray guns
140a through 140d are being spaced from each other and also
the paint spray guns 182a thorugh 182d are being spaced ~ -
from each other while coating the vehicle body 14, and
thereafter the paint spray guns 140a through 140d and the ~
paint spray guns 182a through 182d are shifted by - -
: :.
_35_ -
~, ., ;~
..'`' .
"''.' ~
,
~. ' ' ` ' ` , ` ' ' . .
132759~
the shifting cylinders 114, 164 before the unpainted areas
of the vehicle body 14 are painted. However, as a
modification, the paint spray guns 140a through 140d and
182a through 182d may be disposed as two groups in both
solid-line and two-dot-dash-line positions shown in FIGS. 6
and 7, and such two groups of paint spray guns may be
spaced from each other in the direction in which the
painting mechanisms 36, 38, 40. With such an alternative,
the entire surface of the vehicle body 14 can be painted in
one coating operation.
When changing paint colors in order to paint a
different vehicle type, the paint spray guns 140a through
140d and 182a through 182d are cleaned by the cleaning
devices 336, 338, 340 after a vehicle body 14 has been
painted or before it is painted on the painting line 10.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper pain~
spray gun cleaning device 336 is directed parallel to the
rail 34b while vehicle bodies 14 are being paintedt so that
the cleaning device 336 ~ill not ob~truct the vehicle body
14 as it is painted. For cleaning the paint spray guns
140a through 140d, the body 344 (FIG. 11) is di~placed
vertically upwardly, and thereafter the body 344 is
hori~ontally turned by a non-illustrated drive source until
the rods 346a, 346b are positioned parallel to the
horizontal gun arm 132, for thereby moving the cleaning
tanks 348a through 348d to their pre~cribed po~ition.
Then, the liftin~/lowering motor 92 is driven to
-36-
J
132769~
cause the ball screw 90 to displace the support plate 96 in
the direction of the arrow A (FIG. 6). The paint ~pray
guns 140a through 140d are also displaced in the direction
of the arrow A by the swing arm 112 supported by the
support plate 96~ At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the
nozzle 240a of the paint spray gun 140a enters the holes
` 358a, 358b of the flexible covers 356a, 356b attached to
the base plate 350 of the cleaning tank 348a. Since the
holes 358a, 358b are smaller in diameter than the nozzle
240a and the slits (not shown) of the covers 356a, 356b
which communicate with the holes 358a, 358b do not overlap
i each other, the upper end of the chamber 380 in the casing ~ -
378 can fully be closed by the nozzle 240a.
A solvent such as a thinner or a mixture of the
solvent and air is e~ected from the nozzle ends 368a
through 368d and 376 through conduits coupled to the
~ cl~aning guns 366a throu~h 366d and 374. As the nozzle
j ends 368a through 368d and 376 are directed toward the
central axis of the opening 354, i.e., the nozzle 240a of
the paint spray guns 140a, the solvent or the mlxture from
the nozzle ends 368a through 368d and 376 is forcibly ~`
applied against the nozzle 240a for effectively cleaning ::
the same.
The upper end of the chamber 380 where the nozzle 240a : `~
enter~ i~ clo~ed by the flexible covers 356a, 356b. Thu~
the -~olvent or the mixture di~charged from the cleaning
gun~ 366a through 366cl and 374 i~ prevented from ~ :
_37_ ~
... ...
: . ~
- 1327699
leaking out of the cleaning tank 348a. As a result, any
mist containing a large amount of thinner will not go into
the working space and hence will not adversely affect the
health of the workers.
While the nozzle 240a of the paint spray gun 140a is
- being cleaned, a paint solution containing the fluid
e~ected from the cleaning guns 366a through 366d and 374,
i.e., a mixture of a drain solution and a mist is
discharged through the outlet 3B2 at the lower end of the
casing 378 and also through the conduits 384, 386 into the
separation tank 388 where the mixture is separated into the
drain and the mist. The mist is fed via the conduit 390
into a drain processinq unit (not shown)l and th~ drain is
delivered by the pump 393 into a drain processing unit (not
shown). Therefore, no drain/mist flows into the working
space, and a good environment i8 maintained in the working
i space.
Rhile the cleaning process for the paint spray gun
140a has been de~cribed in detail, the other paint spray
gun~ 140b throuqh 140d are cleaned in the Qame manner.
The paint spray guns 182a through 182d of the side
painting mechani~m~ 38, 40 are cleaned as follows;
In the ~ide paint spray gun cleaning device 338, the
i cylinders 302a, 302b (FIG. 11) are operated to displace the
piqton rodi~ 304a, 304b horizontally to po~ition the
cleaning tank~ 300a, 300c supported on the piston rods
-38-
. - .... ~: . ,. - t . .... .,.. , ...... , .: . .. ; . . .. .
1327~ ~3
304a, 304b in horizontal alignmen~ with the respective
paint spray guns 182a, 182c. The nozzle ends of the paint
spray guns 182a, 182b, 182d are horizontally oriented and
positioned, and the gun arm 178 is swung from the side of
the vehicle body 14 toward the side paint spray gun
cleaning deYice 338 until the paint spray guns 182a through
182d confront the cleaning ~anks 300a through 300d,
respectively~
The lefthand side painting mechanism 38 is then
displaced along the rail 34a toward the cleaning device
338, whereupon the nozzle ends of the paint spray guns 182a
through 182d are inserted into the respective cleaning
tanks 300a thorugh 300d. The nozzle ends of the paint
spray guns 182a through 182d are now cleaned in the
cleaning tanks 182a through 182d in the same manner as that
in which the paint spray gun 140a is cleaned in the
cleaning tank 348a.
The paint spray guns 182a thorugh 182d of the
ri~hthand side painting mechanism 40 are similarly
automatically cleaned by the side paint spray gun cleaning
device 340.
Operation of the painting apparatus of the invention ~;
will be described in greater detail. FIG. 14 is a
flowchart of operation of the conveyor mechanism and the
controllers of the painting control ~ystem 400 shown in
FIG. 2.
14-A indicates a sequence or flow of operation of ;
:,
-39-
,
..
. - , . . . . .- . ... : . ; .
Y:'` . ' . . - . ' ' ' ' ' . . .'-' ''; ' . ' , . ' .' ' .~ ~ ` . . . ` .
h:. : . -: ` `.-.. .. .- . . . ...... ` . .. ...... . ..
1327699
the vehicle body conveyor mechanism 24, 14-B a sequence of
operation of t]he lin~ master controller 410, 14-C a
sequence of operation of the stage master controller~ 412a
through 412c, 14-D a sequence of operation of the
opening/closing controllers 420, 430, 14-E a sequence of
operation of the painting robot controllers 422, 432, 442,
and 14F a sequence of operation of the painting controllers
424, 434, 444.
When a vehicle body 14 to be coated is set on th~
conveyor mechanism 24 and the lina master controller 410
: issues an automatic start signal for the painting line, the
` conveyor mechanism 24 is initialized in position and
started (14-A). In synchronism with the starting of the
conveyor mechanism 24, the line master controller 410
shifts vehicle type and paint color data to a transmission
register and then transf~rs the data to and sets the data
in the stage master controllers 412a through 412c (14-B,
14-C). As the conveyor mechanism 24 advances and tho
vehicle body 14 reaches a dasired one of the painting
stages lOa throu~h lOc, the line master controller 410
issues a start command to a corresponding one of the stage
mastèr controllers 412a through 412c. Based on the start
~ommand, th~ stage master controllers 412a through 412c
transfer the vehicle type data to the associated
opening/closing controllers 420, 430 and the painting robot
controllers 422, 432, 442, and also transfer the paint
color data to the pain.ting controllerQ 424 through 444.
'`,
-40-
-` 132769~
The data items are read by the opening/closing controllers,
the painting robot controllers, and the painting
controllers. The stage master controllers 412a through
412c issue a start command to the opening/closing
controllers 420, 430, the painting robot controllers 422,
432, 442, and the painting controllers 424 through 444.
r In response to the vehicle type data and the start
command, the opening/closing controllers 420, 430 are
readied for opening operation and wait for the completion
of the vehicle body positioning (14-D3. Similarly, in
response to the vehicle type data and the start command,
. the painting robot controllers 422, 432, 444 wait for
- painting operation and also for opening of the --
openi~g/closing mechanisms 20, 22, 32a, 32b in the painting
stages lOb, lOc (14~
~ When the vehicle body 14 is positioned in one of the
painting stages lOa through lOc upon further advance of ~he
conveyor mechanism 24, the line master controller 410
confirms the vehicle body positioning, and applies a `.-
positioning confirmation signal to the stage ma~ter -~
controllers 412a through 412c (14-A, 14-B).
In response to the positioning confirmation signal,
the stage master controller~ 412a through 412c control the
opening/closing controllers 420, 430, to open the
opening/closing mechanisms 20, 22 or 32a, 32b, to confirm
the completion of thei.r opening, and to i8~ue an opening
completion signal to t.he painting robot controllers
-41-
' ` '
.
1~27~99
422, 432, 442 (14-D, 14-E).
In response to the opening completion signal from
the opening/closing controllers 420, 430, the painting
robot controllers 422, 432, 442 move the corresponding
painting mechanisms 18a through 18d, 28a, 28b or 36, 38, 40
to their painting position, and issue a paint and painting
condition command to the painting controllers 424 through
444 (14-E, 14-F). When the paint and painting condition
command is received, the painting controllers 424 through
444 select the indicated paint and painting condition, and
control the painting mechani~ms 18a through 18d, 28a, 2~b
or 36, 38, 40 to effect painting operation.
Upon arrival of the painting mechanisms 18a
through 18d, 28a, 28b or 36, 38, 40 at a painting
completion position, the painting robot controllers 42~,
432, 4~2 transmit a pai~t co~pletion signal to the painting
controlle~s 424 throug~ 44~, which then turns off the paint ` `
~14-E, 14-F). At the s~me tLme, the painting robot
controllers 422, 432, 442 c~m~and closing of the opening/
clsoing ~e~anisms 20, 22 ~r 32a, 32b corresponding to the
opening/clQsing c~ntrollers 420, 430 (14-E).
ID response to t~e cl~sing command from the
paintiD~ robot c~troll~rs 422, 432, 442, the opening/
closing controllers 420, 430 close the correspanding
opening/clo~ing mech,ni~m~ 20, 22 or 32a, 32b ~14-D).
Upon c~mpl~tion of the closing operation, the
opening/closing controllers 422, 432, 442 return the
,,:
-42-
::::
132769~
corresponding opening/closing mechanisms 20, 22 or 32a, 32b
to their original position and transmit a returning
completion signal to the stage master controllers 412a
through ql2c, which then return all of the corresponding
painting stages lOa through lOc to the original position
(14-D, 14-C).
When all of the painting stages lOa through lOc
return to their original position, the line master
controller 410 returns the entire painting line to the : -
original position, whereupon the painting of the vehicle
body 14 is finis~ed (14-B).
FIGS. 15 throuqh 19 show another embodiment of .. :
the present invention. In t~is embodiment, as show~,
painting mechanisms are displaceable in a transverse
dire~tion of an automctive vehicle body 14, so that the
painting operation ca~ ~e effected in a short period of
time for highly efficient operation of the overall painting
process.
FIG. 15 illustrates a painting apparatus 500
t ~n~prisi~g first rails 514a, 514b disposed on opposit~
sidbs ~f a v~;cle con~eyQr mechanism 512 extendi~g along a
p~intiny line, firYt painting mechani~ms 516a, 516b mova~le
*long tbe first rail~ 514a, Slqb, respectively, second
rails 518a, 518b spaced from the first rails 514a, 514b,
respectively, and a second painting mechanism 520 movable
back and forth along the second rails 518a, 518b. An
.
automotive vehicle body 522 has its longitudinal direction
'. ": .
-43- :
, ~' ' :
. . : ' , ; ' - . . ,. ; " , ', ' . ' ;l , , , ;;: . ., . " ', ; , ~ , . . : '
1327~99
substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction
(indicated by the arrows). The vehicle body 522 has a
; front portion 524 and a rear portion 526 which are paintedby the first painting mechanisms 516a, 516b, respectively,
and lateral sides 528, 530 and an upper portion which are
painted by the second painting mechanism 520.
The first painting mechanisms 516a, 516b and the
second painting mechanism 520 are transported along the
first rails 514a, 514b and the second rails 518a, 518b by
basically the same transport means as that of the previous
embodiment. Therefore, such transport means will not be
~ described below.
e ~he first painting mechanisms 516a, 516b have
horizontally directed paint spray guns 550a, 550b which are
preferably displaceable in vertical directions (indicated
by the arrows A, D in FIGS. 16 and 17) and in horizontal
directions (indicated by the arrows E, F in FIG. 16) by
i means of actuators mounted in the first painting mechanisms
516a, 516b.
The second painting mechanism 520 is describQd below.
The ~econd painting mechanism 520 comprises a pair of
vertical mobile posts and an arm 572 movably mounted at its
oppo8ite ends on the posts. Paint spray guns 574a through
574i are supported on the arm 572. Since the paint spray
guns 574a though 574i are identical in construction, only
the paint spray gun 574a will be described in detail.
An attachment plate 576a extending vertically
-44-
1327699
downwardly is secured at one end to the arm 572, and a
liftingflowering cylinder 578a is mounted on the attachment
plate 576a. The lifting/lowering cylinder 578a has a
downwardly extending piston rod 580a to which there is
fixed an attachment member 584a attached to the lower end
of a bracket 582a. The bracket 582a accommodates therein a
swinging cylinder 586a having a piston rod 588a extending
downwardly and projecting a prescribed length from the
- lower end of the bracket 582a. A rod 590a has one e~d
~ fixed to the lower end of the bracket 582a parallel to the
r, pistQn rod 588a, with a swing plate 592a being swingably
attached to the other end of the rod S90a. The paint spray
-~ gun 574a is mounted on the distal end of the swing plate
592a. The piston rod 588a has its distal end coupled to a
L joint 594a projecting laterally from the swi~g plàte 592a.
The paint spray gun 574a is of a basic
R construction as described above. The other paint spray
guns 574a through 574i are indentical in stru~ture, and
their identical components are denoted by identical
referer.oe nu~erals with suffixes b through i.
The paint spray guns 574e, 574f serve to paint
the upper~ost postion of a roof 532 of the vehicle body
522, ~nd mRy not be vertically movable witb respect to the
arm 572. Therefore~ the swinging cylinders 586e, 586f
; thereof may be directly mounted on the attachment plates
576e, 576f, respectively. "
t The paint;ing apparatus of the second embodiment
.~
" ' '~ ' ':
-45- `
.
132769~
operates and is advantageous as follows:
As shown in FIG. lS, the first painting
mechanisms 516a, 516b are positioned on one end of the
first rails 514a, 514b, and the second painting mechanism
520 is positioned on one end of the second rails 518a,
518b, with the paint spray guns 574a through 574i being
directed substantially perpendicularly to a lefthand side
528 of the vehicle body 522.
The vehicle body 522 is then moved transversely
in the direction of the arrow by the conveyor mechanism 512
until the vehicle body 52~ is positioned between the first
and second rails 514a, 514b whereupon the vehicle body 522
is stopped. Paint sprays are then ejected from the paint
spray guns SSOa, 550b of the first paintinq mechanisms
516a, 516b, during which time the first painting mechanisms
t 516a, 516b are moved alonq the first rails 514a, 514b to
their oppo~-;te end.
More s~ecifically, the first painting mechanisms
516a, 516b are ~oved i~ the direction opposite to the
direction of the arrow by mea~s of the transport means on
the Lower ends Qf the first paia~ing mechanis~ms 516a, 516b.
Tbus, the p~int spr~y guns 550a, 55-Ob are moved in the
directio~ opposite to t~e direction of the arrow while
ejecting paint spray~ to coat the front and rear portions
524, 526 of the vehicle body 522.
After the front and rear portions 524, 526 of the
vehicle body 522 have been painted, the vehicle body 522 is
-46-
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,
transferred in the direction of the arrow by the conveyor
mechanism 512 and then stopped when it reaches a position
between the second rails 518a, 518b. The second painting
mechanism 520 is then operated to apply paint sprays from
the paint spray guns 57da through 574i which are directed
substantially perpendicularly to lefthand side, ~pper, and
righthand side portions 528, 532, 530 of the vehicle body
522 and are spaced at prescribed intervals from each other,
as shown in FIG. 18.
More specifically, for coating the lefthand side
portion 528 of the vehicle body 522 with the second
. .
painting machanism 520, the lifting/lowering motor 92 is
driven to move the paint spray guns 574a through 574i from
a position Pl to a position P2. ~he ball screw 90 coupled
to the lifting~lowering motor 92 is rotated about its own
axis, causing the support plate 96 to lift the arm 572 in
the direction of the arrow D. At this time, the turning
motor 100 is also driven to rotate the gear 104 supported
on its shaft for enabling the gear 100 meshing with the `~
~ear 104 to turn the arm 572 in the direction of the arrow
B.
Therefore, the paint spray guns 574a through 574i
mounted on the arm 572 are directed perpendicularly to the
lefthand side 528 of the vehicle body 522. If required,
t~e pinion 70 is rotated by the transport motor 66 to cause
the rack 52 to move the casing along the rail bracket in a
prescribed direction. As a result, the paint spray guns
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574a through 574i can be spaced a constant distance from
the lefthancl side 548 of the vehicle body 522, so that the
paint can uniformly be applied from the paint spray guns
574a through 574i to the lefthand side 528 of the vehicle
body 522.
After the lefthand side 528 of the vehicle body
522 has been painted, the gear 104 is rotated by the
turning motor 100 to enable the gear 104 to rotate the arm
572 in the direction of the arrow B for thereby orienting
the paint spray guns 574a through 57~i downwardly. At this
- time, the paint spray guns 574a through 574i are
positionally adjusted so that they are directed
substantially perpendicularly eO and spared a desired
distance from the engine hood, roof, and trunk lid of the
vehicle body 522.
More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 17,
when the lifting/lowering cylinder 578a is driven to
displace the piston rod 580a in the directiQn of the arrow
A, the bracket 582a coupled to the piston rod 580a is
lowered. Therefore, the paint spray gun 574a supported by ~ `
the piston rod 588a of ehe swinging cylinder 586a disposed
in the brac~et 582a a~d also by the rod 590a is displaced
in the direction of the arrow A. The lifting/lowering
i cylinder 578a is inactivated when the paint spray gun 574a
reaches a position Iwhich is spaced a given distance from
the engine hood. Wlhere the surface of the engine hood
i which faces the paint spray gun 574a is slanted, the
~, ~
-48-
1327~9~
swinging cylinder 586a is driven to displace the piston rod
588a in a desired direction. The swing plate 592a is now
angularly mov~d in the direc~ion of the arrow by the joint
594a coupled to the pistonirod 588a until the paint spray
gun 574a is oriented substantially perpendicularly to the
engine hood surface, whereupon the swinging cylinder 586a
is stopp~d.
The paint spray guns 574b, 574c are similarly
angularly moved to meet the shape of the engine hood and
positioned at a desired spacing therèfrom by driving the
lifting/lowering cylinders 578b, 578c and the swinging
cylinders 586b, 586c.
The paint spray guns S74d through 574g for
paining the vehicle body roof are swung to meet the shape
of the roof by driving the swinging cylinders 586d through
586g. Durding this ti~e, at lea-st the lifting/lowering
cylinders 578d, 578g are driven ~o displace the piston rods
580d, 580g in the direction of the arrow A for thereby
positioning the paint ~pray guns 574d through 574g with `
respect to the roof.
The paint spray guns 574h, 574i for painting the
trunk lid are positioned a desired distance from the trunk
lid by driving the lifting/lowering cylinders 578h, 578i
and the swinging cy:Linders 586h, 586i.
In this m~lnner, the paint spray guns 574a through
574i are positioned with respect to the engine hood, roof,
and trunk lid of the vehicle body 522. The pinion 70 is
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1327699
rotated by the transport motor 66 to cause the rack 52 to
move the casings in the direction opposite to the direction
of the arrow. Therefore, the second painting ~echanism 520
passes through a position P3 in FIG. 18 while the upper
portion of the vehicle body 522 is fully coated by the
paint spray guns 574a through s74i.
After the upper portion of the vehicle body 522
has been painted, the lifting/lowerins cylinders 578a
through 578i are driven to displace the paint spray guns
574a through 574i a prescribed distance in the direction of
the arrow D, and the swinging cylinders 586a through 586i
are operated to turn the no2zle ends of the paint spray
guns 5~4a through 574i a desired angle in the direction of
the arrow. The paint spray guns 574a through 574i are ~ow
positioned in a pattern complementary to the configuration
of the righthand side 530 of the vehicle body 522.
Then, the transport motor 66 is actuated to move
the casings in the direction opposita to the direction of
the arrow, while at the same time the turning motor 100 is
driven to rotate the arm 572 in the opposite direction, and
the arm 572 is displaced in the direction of the arrow A by
the lifting/lowering motor 92~ Therefore, the paint spray
guns 574a through 5~4i reach a position P4 in FIG. 18 to
start painting the rightband side 530 of the vehicle body
522. The lifting/lowering motor 92 and the turning motor
100 are driven to rotate the arm 572 in the prescribed
direction and displace the same in the direction of the
-50-
'' '.:
` ` 1327699
arrow A. If necessary, the transport motor 66 is operated
to move the casings in a direction to orient the paint
spray guns 574a through 574i substantially perpendicularly
to the righthand side 530 of the vehicle body 522 and also
to space them a desired distance from the righthand side
s30, which is thereafter painted.
Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the outer panel
surface of the vehicle body 522 is fully coated until the
paint spray guns 574a through 574i reach a position P5,
whereupon the paint sprays from ~he paint spray guns 574a
through 574i are cut off. The painted vehicle body 522 is
transferred in the direction of the arrow C by the conveyor
mechanism 512.
At this time, a next vehicle body 522 has been
transferred to the pos.ition between the first rails 514a,
514b. The front and rear portions 524, 526 of the next
vehicle body 522 are then coated by the first painting
mechanisms 516a, 516b. Before the new vehicle body 522 is
painted by the first painting mechanisms 516a, 516b, the
transport motor 66 is driven to position the casings as
sbown in FIG~ 15, and the lifting/lowering motor 92 and the
turning tor 100 are operated to direct the paint spray
guns 574a througb 574i substantially perpendicularly to the
le~fthand side 528 of the vehicle body 522.
With the present invention, it is possible to
paint the vehicle body 522 in a short period of time, and a
uniform and sightly paint coat can be applied to the ~ :~
'~,
-51-
~ ' . ., . , ! . . ' .
-`` 132769~
overall outer panel surface of the vehicle body 522.
As described above, the vehicle body 522 is
delivered by the conveyor mechanism 512 into the painting
apparatus 500 while the sides 528, 530 of the vehicle body
522 extend in a direction substantially normal to the
- direction in which the vehicle body 522 is transferred (in
the direction of the arrow). Therefore, as shown in FIG.
15, the first painting mechanisms 516a, 516b for painting --
the front and rear portions 524, 526 of the vehicle body
522 are moved only a distance Sl that is slightly longer
than the width of tbe vehicle body 522 tat tbe front and
rear portions 524, 526) while painting the front and rear
portions 524, 526. The second painting mechanism 520 for
coating the sides s2a, 530 and the top 532 of the vehicle
body 522 is moved a distance S2 which is equal to the sum
of the width of the vehicle body 522 and an additional
distance.
~ herefore, the distances that the painting
mechanisms 516a, 516b, 520 must move are smaller than those
of the painting mechanisms of the painting apparatus in
which the lateral sides of a vehicle body would extend in
the direction of delivery of the vehicle body, so that the
vehicle body 522 can be coated in a short period of time.
Consequently, the painlting line with the painting apparatus
500 incorporated therein iQ rendered highly efficient, and
can be shortened in its overall length.
The paint spray guns 574a through 574i of the
-52-
'"~
27699
second painting mechanism 520 are anqularly movable and
vertically movable by the arm 572, and are also
displaceable into a pattern complementary to the shaft of
the vehicle body 522. Thus, paint sprays can be ejected
from the paint spray guns 574a through 574i while they are
being directed substantially perpendicularly to and spaced
a prescribed distance from the sides 538, 530 and the top
532 of the vehicle body 522. The paint sprays can
therefore be uniformly applied against the overall surface
of the vehicle body 522 to form a sightly paint coat
~ thereon~
,~ FIG. 19 illustrates a painting apparatus
according still another embodiment. Those parts which are
identical to those of the preceding embodiment are denoted
by identical reference characters, and will not be
described in detail.
A painting apparatus 590 according to this
embodiment includes a pair of rails 592a, 592b vertically
disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor mechanism 512.
set of casings is movably mounted on the rail 592a,
whereas anothse set of casings is movably mounted on the
other rail 592b.
A vehicle body 522 is transferred by the conveyor
mechanisms 512 in the direction of the arrow, and then ~-
stopped when it has reached a painting position in the
painting apparatus 590. The casings of the first painting
1 mechanisms 516a, 516b are moved along the rail brackets of
:~ :., '
-53-
-'..''
r; " ' ; ', . . ,; ' ., ' ' . ;,
1327~9~
the rails 592a, 592b in the direction opposite to the
direction of the arrow, during which time paint sprays are
ejected from the paint spray guns 550a, 550b to coat the
front and rear portions 524, 526 of the vehicle body 522.
Then, the second painting mechanism 520 is
operated to coat the sides 528, 530 and the top 532 of the
vehicle body 522 in the sequence described above. More
specifically, the arm 572 is vertically moved and angularly
moved, and the casings are displaced in a prescribed
direction along the rail brackets. The paint spray guns
574a through 574i are therefore directed substantially
perpendicularly to and spaced a desired distance from the
lefthand side, upper, and righthand side portions 528, 532,
530 of the vehicle ~ody 522, which are then uniformly
painted. -~
The painting apparatus 590 of this embodiment is
advantageous in that since the painting mechanisms 516a,
516b, 520 are mounted on the pair of rails 592a, 592b, the
space taken up by the painting mechanism 590 is much
smaller.
FIGS. 20 through 23 illustrate a further
embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
holder mechani~ms are employed for smoothly holding hoses,
cables, and the like which supply driving mediums such as
pneumatic pressure, hydraulic pressure, electric power
while the painting mechanisms are moved. Those components
which are identical to those of the previous embodiments
.
-54- ;
- `
,;~ ...':
13276~9
are designated by identical reference characters.
As shown in FIG. 20, holder mechanisms 600a, 600b
are disposed outside of the rails.
The holder mechanism 600a includ~s a base 602a
coupled to the rail bracket 42 of the rail parallel
thereto. A box-shaped casing 604a is vertically mounted on
the base 602a and has an opening 606a defined in its side
panel facing the rail. As illustrated in FIG. 21, first
and second racks 608a, 608b have ends secured substantially
centrally to the base 602a in confronting relation to each
other. The other end of the first rack ~08a is fixed to
the upper painting mechanism 36, whereas the other end of
the seond rack 608b is fixed to the lefthand side painting
mechanism 38.
The holder mechanism 600b includes a base 602b
coupled to the rail bracket 42 of the rail parallel
thereto. A casing 604b having an opening 606b is
vertically mounted on the base 602b. A third rack 608c has ~`
an end secured to one end of the base 602b. The o~her end
of the third rack 608c is supported on the righthand side
painting mechanism 40.
t Since the first through third racks 608a - 608c
; are identical in construction to each other, only the f irst
rack 608a will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the first rack 608a
includes a pair of plarallel elongate chains 610a, 610b ``
comprising a plurality of plate-like links 612a, 612b with
":
,
~ -55-
~ ~.
~~
` 1327699
their ends angulary movably coupled. The links 612a, 612b
in confronting pairs, for example, alternately have central
bolt insertion holes 614a, 614b and 614c, 614d. A first
partition rod 616 extends through the holes 614a, 614c, and
has externally threaded ends 618a, 618b. A first guide
cylinder 620 having a prescribed length is rotatably fitted
over the first rod 616, and extends through ends of support
plates 622a, 622b disposed outwardly of the first cylinder
620. Cylindrical spacers 624a, 624b are interposed between
`i `
the support plates 622a, 622b and the links 612a, 612b.
The first rod 616 is loosely fitted in the spacers 624a,
624b, and nuts 626a, 626b are threaded over the externally
threaded ends 618a, 618b thereof.
The support plates 622a, 622b are of a
rectangular shape and have holes 628a, 628b defined in one
end and in which the first rod 616 is fitted. The support
plates 622a, 622b have first grooves 630a, 630b spaced a
distance S3 from the holes 628a, 628b and extending
tran~versely of the support plates 622a, 622b. The support
plates 622a, 622b also have second grooves 632a, 632b
spaced a distance S4 from the first groo~es 630a, 630b, and
third grooves 634a, 634b spaced a distance SS from the ~;
second grooves 632a, 632b. The distances S3, S4, S5 are
progresqively smaller in the order named. ~;~
The support plates 622a, 622b have threaded holes
636a, 363b positioned between the grooves 632a, 632b and
the grooves 634a, 634b, and threaded holes 638a, 638b at
.:' . .,
'''".`'..
--5 6--
,` , . ' '.'.
-- 132769~
ends near the third grooves 634a, 634b. Plate-like
stoppers 640a, 640b are angularly movably mounted at one
end on the support plates 622a, 622b by means of pins 642a,
642b.
The other ends of the stoppers 640a, 640b have
bolt insertion holes 644a, 644b through which bolts 646a,
646b are inserted threadedly into the threaded holes 638a,
638b. Thus, the stoppers 640a, 640b are mounted on the
support plates 622a, 622b parallel to the longitudinal
direction thereof.
Second through fourth partition rods 648a througb
648c are fitted endwise in the first grooves 630a, 630b
through the third groo~es 634a, 634b. Second through
fourth cylinders 650a through 650c, which are similar to
the first cylinder 620, are rotatably fitted over the
¦ second through fourth rods 648a through 648c, respectively.
I Therefore, the first and second cylinders 620, 650a, the
second and third cylinders 650a, 650b, and the third and
fourth cylinders 650b, 650c define first through fourth
storage spaces or areas 652a through 652c, respectively,
which are progressively smaller in width.
The second through fourth rods 648a through 648c
are mounted on the support plates 622a, 622b through the
stoppers 640a, 640b, and cylindrical spacers 654a, 654b are
disposed between the suppor~ plates 622a, 622b and the
links 612a, 612b. Bolts 656a, 656b are inserted through
the holes 614b, 614d of the links 612a, 612b and also
-57-
:
--- 132769~
through ehe spacers 654a, 654b threaded into the threaded
holes 638a, 638b, thereby fastening the support plates
622a, 622b to the respective links 612a, 612b.
The first rack 608a accommodates hoses and cables
for driving the upper painting mechanism 36 and hoses for
supplying the paint to the paint spray guns 140a through
140d of the upper painting mechanism 36. More
specifically, the hoses are divided into a first hose group
558a of larger diameter, a second hose group 658b of medium
diameter, and a third hose group 658c of smaller diameter.
The first hose group 658a is housed in the first storage
space 652a, the second hose group 658b is housed in the
second storage space 652b, and the third hose group 658c is
housed in the third storage space 652c. One end of the
chains 610a, 610b is fixed to the base 662 through
attachments 660, and the chains 610a, 610b are bent at
intermediate portions thereof. The other ends of the
chains 610a, 610b are coupled to attachment bases 662 fixed
to the plate 60 of the upper painting mechanism 36. The
first through third hose groups 658a - 658c are
positionally selected such thae the first hose group 658a
~ of larger diameter are bent in an outermost position at the
! bent portions of the chains 610a, 610b.
i Operation and advantages of the holder mechanisms
600a, 600b will be clescribed below.
When the upper painting mechanism and the side
painting mechanisms are displaced, the spray nozzles
., ~:
~ -58-
.
,
13276~9
mounted on the painting mechanisms, the first hose group
658a, the second hose group 658b, and the third hose group
658c which are coupled to the drive sources and other
sources are extended. Upon movement of the painting
mechanisms, the cables and hoses in the first through third
hose groups induce rotation of the first, second, third,
and fourth cylinders 620, 650a - 650c. In this embodiment,
the support plates 622a, 622b are disposed between the
chains 610a, 610b, and the first rod 616 and the second
through fourth rods 648a - 648c are mounted on the support
plates 622a, 622b, thus defining the first through third
storage spaces 6S2a - 652c which are divided from each
other. Since the cables and hoses are divided into the
first through third hose groups 658a - 658c according to
their diameter, and the first through third hose groups
658a - 658c are stored respectively in the first through
third storage spaces 652a - 652c, the hose groups 658a
thruogh 658c can smoothly be displaced without the danger
of damage to the hoses which would otherwise be caused by
overlapping of the hoses.
More specifically, the cylinders 620, 650a
through 650c are rotatably fitted over the rods 616, 648a
through 648c, respectively. As shown in FIG. 21, when the
end of the first rack 608a i5 displaced with the upper
painting mechanism 36 along the rail 36a and the bent
portions of the chains 610a, 610b are succescively moved
while the links 612a, 612b are being relatively angularly
:
-59- '
--`` 13276~
.
moved, the hose groups 658a through 658c are not
frictionally moved against ~he outer peripheries of thP
cylinders 620, 650a through 650c. Therefore, the hoses of
the hose groups 658a through 658c will not be entangled
even if the number of those hoses is considerably large,
and can also be prevented from moving frictionally with
respect to other parts. As a result, any wear or damage to
the hose groups 658a - 658c can be reduced as much as
possible. The hose groups 658a - 658c can be used for a
long period of time, resulting in a highly economical
arrangement. As the hose groups 658a - 658c need to be
replaced less frequently, the maintenance procedure is
simplified, putting a l~ess burden on the workers, and the
overall painting proces~ can easily be automated. ~
For servicing the hose groups 658a through 658c,
the bolts 656a, 656b are first removed from the threaded
holes 636a, 636b, and the stoppers 640a, 640b are swung
about the pins 642a, 642b. Then, the rods 648a through
648c are removed from the grooves 630a, 630b; 632a, 632b:
634a, 634b of the support plates 622a, 622b. Consequently,
the hose groups 658a through 658b can be handled with
utmost ease.
According to ehe present invention, as described
above, a painting line has a conveyor mechanism for
conveying an object ~3uch a~ a vehicle body to be painted
and a plurality of painting stages disposed for painting
different areas of t~e object, and the overall painting
....
-60-
'''.'.',.".
132769~
line and the painting stages are controlled by a line
master controller, stage master controllers, and working
component controllers. Command information indicative of a
vehicle type and a paint color is transferred between these
controllers in synchronism with the timing of operation of
the conveyor mechanism. Therefore, computers of the
respective controllers may be of a relativaly small
procesing capability for efficient control. When an
operation sequence (processing program~ is to be changed
due to changing of vehicle types, the number of vehicles to
be produced, or paint colors, it is not necessary to change
the entire processing program, but only the operation
sequence for those controllers which are involved in such a
change needs to be modified. Accordingly, the operation
sequence can be modified in a relatively small number of
steps, so that the painting control system can easily adapt
itself to modifications such as a vehicle type change.
wieh the arrangement of the invention,
furthermôre, the lateral sides and top of the object are
painted by first, second, and third painting mechanisms
which can travel independently along the object. By
controlling the Eirst and second painting mechanisms which
paint the sides, respectively, of the object, and the third
painting mechanism which paints the top of the object so
that these mechanisms will run in mutually spaced-apart
relationship, paint sprays are prevented from interfering `
with each other between the sides and the top of the
.
-61-
:` 132769~
object, so that paint defects such as paint coat
irregularties and/or paint runs and sags will not be
caused. Since the first, second, and third painting
mechanisms can be controlled independently so that
discharged paint sprays will not interfere with each other,
a paint coat can be applied highly accurately dependent on
the configuration of the object easily and in a small
number of painting steps.
Paint spraying means are moved along the object
by the first painting mechanism and spaced a constant
distance from the surface of the object upon movement of
the second painting mechanism. The paint spraying means
are also directed substantially perpendicularly to the
surface of the object by turning means. Thus, an object
having curved surfaces can automatically be painted with
high accuracy. Where an outer panel surface of an
automotive vehicle body is to be painted, the front and ~ -
rear ends thereof are not required to be manually painted
or another independent paining mechanism, as has been the -~
case with the conventional painting apparatus. Therefore,
vehicle bodie_ can be coated with paint in a s~aller number ;
of _tepQ and within a shorter period of time.
The painting mechanisms are moved reciprocally,
and the paint spraying means thereon are postionally
shifted on forward and backward strokes of the painting
mechanisms. This allows a more uniform paint coat on the
vehicle body, and also an effective use of the paint, with ~ -
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1327699
the consequence that a sightly paint coat can be obtained
economically.
According to the present invention, moreover,
cover members are provided to prevent paint droplets or
dust particles from dropping on the object or the path of
the paint mechanisms. Accordingly, paint defects such dust
deposits are not produced on the coated surface, and hence
a sightly smooth paint coat can be produced. The painting
process can automatically and efficiently be effected, and
`;
the entire production line can easily be rendered highly
efficient. The painting mechanisms can also be cleaned
simply by cleaning devices.
Although certain preferred embodiments have been
shown and described, it should be understood that many
changes and modifications may be made therein without
departing from the scope of the appended claims.
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