Device for lacquer transfer

Abstract

A device for a lacquer transfer includes a transfer roller mounted at and rotatable relative to a frame. The roller includes a cylindrical support-body, first ring-element, second ring-element, and a tire including a middle-section forming a circumferential outer contact surface with depressions, the roller configured to roll with the outer contract surface on a work surface of a workpiece for transferring lacquer from the outer contact surface and the depressions to the work surface. The tire includes two annular end-sections attached to a cylindrical outer shell of the support-body resulting in two axially separated and circumferentially extending connections, the tire, connections, and outer shell of the support-body being fluid-tight. The first and second ring-elements are in the first cavity seated on the support-body at a distance in an axial direction of the roller from one another and the middle-section of the tire between the first and second ring-elements is prestrained in the axial direction.

Claims

1. A device for a lacquer transfer, the device comprising: a frame; a nozzle with a dispensing end for dispensing lacquer; a transfer roller rotatably mounted at the frame, such that the transfer roller can rotate relative to the frame about an axis of rotation, the transfer roller comprising: a cylindrical support-body; a first ring-element; a second ring-element; and a tire, which comprises two annular end-sections, which are attached to a cylindrical outer shell of the support-body resulting in two axially separated and circumferentially extending connections, and a middle-section, which forms a circumferential outer contact surface with several depressions; wherein the tire, the connections, and the outer shell of the support-body are fluid-tight and arranged such that a fluid-tight first cavity is formed between the tire and the support-body; wherein the first and second ring-elements are arranged in the first cavity and seated on the support-body at a predefined distance in an axial direction of the transfer roller from one another such that the middle-section of the tire between the first and second ring-elements is pre-strained in the axial direction; and a drive unit configured to drive the transfer roller in a rotation direction of the transfer roller, wherein the nozzle and the transfer roller are arranged such that lacquer can be dispensed from the dispensing end onto the outer contact surface and into the depressions; and wherein the transfer roller is configured to roll with the outer contact surface on a work surface of a workpiece for transferring lacquer from the outer contact surface and from the depressions to the work surface of the workpiece.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first cavity is filled with a gas with a predefined pressure such that the middle-section is prestrained in a radial direction of the transfer roller.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first ring-element and the second ring-element each comprise a fluid-tight cover forming a respective circumferentially extending second cavity, which is filled with a fluid.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the first ring-element and the second ring-element are each formed of an elastically deformable solid material.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the middle-section of the tire between the outer contact surface of the tire and a confinement surface of the tire facing the first cavity is at most 1 cm.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the tire is formed of at least two layers.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein a number of layers is at most five.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein the tire comprises a first layer of the at least two layers and a second layer of the at least two layers, wherein the first layer is arranged on a side of the tire facing the first cavity, and wherein the second layer forms the outer contact surface of the tire.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein each end-section extends transversely to an extension of the middle-section.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the tire comprises silicone.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the transfer roller comprises a first clamping element, which is in contact with a first annular end-section of the two annular end-sections such that the first annular end-section is pressed on the outer shell of the support-body to form a first connection of two connections, and a second clamping element, which is in contact with a second annular end-section of the two annular end-sections such that the second annular end-section is pressed on the outer shell of the support-body to form a second connection of the two connections.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the support-body comprises a transparent cylinder and two rims, wherein the rims are mounted to the cylinder at two opposing ends of the cylinder such that the cylinder and the two rims are arranged coaxial to each other.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the cylinder is made of glass.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the cylinder forms a confinement surface facing the first cavity.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the support-body comprises a first support-element extending in a radial direction such that the first ring-element is secured against movement in the axial direction by the first support-element, and wherein the support-body comprises a second support-element extending in the radial direction such that the second ring-element is secured against movement in the axial direction by the second support-element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a part of an aircraft with a wing and a device arranged according to an embodiment for transferring lacquer onto an upper wing surface of the wing.

(2) FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the embodiment of the device in FIG. 1 in a cross-sectional view.

(3) FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a transfer roller of the embodiment of the device in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in a cross-sectional view.

(4) FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a first ring-element of the transfer roller in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a part of an aircraft 1, which comprises a fuselage 3 and a wing 5. A robot 7 is seated on a rack 9. The robot 7 comprises a movable robot arm 11. A device 13 according to an embodiment of the disclosure herein is mounted at an end of the robot arm 11, such that the device 13 can be moved by the robot 7. The device 13 is configured for transferring lacquer onto a work surface 15 of a workpiece 17. According to the example shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece 17 can be formed by the wing 5 of the aircraft 1 and an upper wing surface 19 of the wing 5 can form the work surface 15.

(6) FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the embodiment of the device 13 in FIG. 1 in a cross-sectional view. The device 13 comprises a frame 21, a drive unit 23, a nozzle 25, and a transfer roller 27. The device 13 can be attached via the frame 21 to the robot arm 11. However, instead of a robot 7 any other handling device may be used, which is configured to move the device 13 in space. The frame 21 may be adapted to be releasably connected to a handling device, such as the robot 7.

(7) The transfer roller 27 is mounted rotatably, in particular by at least one bearing, about an axis of rotation 29 at the frame 21 such that the transfer roller 27 can rotate around the axis of rotation 29 relative to the frame 21. The transfer roller 27 comprises a tire 31, which may be elastically deformable. The tire 31 comprises a circumferential outer contact surface 33 with several depressions. The nozzle 25 comprises a dispensing end 35 for dispensing lacquer onto the outer contact surface 33 and into the depressions. The nozzle 25 and the transfer roller 27 are arranged such that lacquer can be dispensed from the dispensing end 35 into the depressions.

(8) The drive unit 23 is configured to drive the transfer roller 27 in a rotation direction U of the transfer roller 27, such that the tire 31 continuously rotates in the rotation direction U around the axis of rotation 29. When lacquer is dispensed from the dispensing end 35 of the nozzle 25 onto the outer contact surface 33 and into the depressions, the lacquer rotates around the axis of rotation 29 in the rotation direction U. When the lacquer reaches the work surface 15 of the workpiece 17, the lacquer is transferred from the depressions to the work surface 15.

(9) The device 13 comprises a hardening unit 39. The hardening unit 39 is configured for hardening the lacquer, preferably contactless. The hardening unit 39 can be formed by an UV-light unit. The hardening unit 39 is directly or indirectly connected to the frame 21. Moreover, the hardening unit 39 can be arranged within an interior space 41 formed by the transfer roller 27. For instance, if the hardening unit 39 is formed by an UV-light unit, the tire 31 of the transfer roller 27 may be configured to transmit UV-light-waves. Thus, the tire 31 can be transparent for UV-light. The hardening unit 39 can be arranged, such that UV-light is emitted towards the work surface 15 on which the tire 31 of the transfer roller 27 can roll. The lacquer may by hardenable by UV-light. The device 13 may be configured to control the drive unit 23 and/or the hardening unit 39, such that lacquer transferred to the work surface 15 is immediately hardened via UV-light emitted by the hardening unit 39.

(10) FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a section of the transfer roller 27 of the embodiment of the device 13 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in a cross-sectional view. The transfer roller 27 comprises the tire 31, a cylindrical support-body 43, a first ring-element 45, and a second ring-element 47. The tire 31 comprises a middle-section 83, which forms the circumferential outer contact surface 33, and two annular end-sections 81, 85. The first and second ring-elements 45, 47 may be elastically deformable. Further, the support-body 43 comprises a transparent cylinder 49, which is made of glass, and two rims 95, 97. The rims 95, 97 are mounted to the cylinder 49 at two opposing ends of the cylinder 49 such that the cylinder 49 and the two rims 95, 97 are arranged coaxial to each other, especially with the axis of rotation 29 as their common axis.

(11) The support-body 43 comprises a circumferential first outer contact surface 51 and a circumferential second outer contact surface 53. The first ring-element 45 and the second ring-element 47 each comprises a circumferential inner contact surface 55, 57. The first outer contact surface 51 of the support-body 43 is in contact with the inner contact surface 55 of the first ring-element 45. The second outer contact surface 53 of the support-body 43 is in contact with the inner contact surface 57 of the second ring-element 47, such that the support-body 43 supports the first and second ring-elements 45, 47 in a radial direction R of the transfer roller 27.

(12) The first ring-element 45 and the second ring-element 47 each comprises a circumferential outer contact surface 59, 61. The tire 31 comprises a circumferential first inner contact surface 63 and a circumferential second inner contact surface 65. The outer contact surface 59 of the first ring-element 45 is in contact with the first inner contact surface 63 of the tire 31. The outer contact surface 61 of the second ring-element 47 is in contact with the second inner contact surface 65 of the tire 31, such that the first and second ring-elements 45, 47 support the tire 31 in the radial direction R.

(13) The two annular end-sections 81, 85 are attached to a cylindrical outer shell 37 of the support-body 43 resulting in two axially separated and circumferentially extending connections 87, 89. The tire 31, the connections 87, 89, and the outer shell 37 of the support-body 43 are fluid-tight and arranged such that a fluid-tight first cavity 75 is formed between the tire 31 and the support-body 43. The first and second ring-elements 45, 47 are arranged in the first cavity 75 and seated on the support-body 43 at a predefined distance in an axial direction A of the transfer roller 27 from one another such that the middle-section 83 of the tire 31 between the first and second ring-elements 45, 47 is prestrained in the axial direction A. The first cavity 75 is filled with a gas with a predefined pressure such that the middle-section 83 is prestrained in the radial direction R of the transfer roller 27.

(14) The transfer roller 27 comprises a first clamping element 99 and a second clamping element 101. The first clamping element 99 is in contact with the first annular end-section 81 of the two annular end-sections 81, 85 such that the first annular end-section 81 is pressed on the outer shell 37 of the support-body 43 to form the first connection 87 of the two connections 87, 89. The second clamping element 101 is in contact with the second annular end-section 85 of the two annular end-sections 81, 85 such that the second annular end-section 85 is pressed on the outer shell 37 of the support-body 43 to form the second connection 89 of the two connections 87, 89. The first end-section 81 of the two end-sections 81, 85 extends transversely to an extension of the middle-section 83. The second end-section 85 of the two end-section 81, 85 extends transversely to an extension of the middle-section 83. The tire 31 comprises an elastic material, especially silicone.

(15) The outer shell 37 of the support-body 43 comprises a circumferential first mounting surface and a circumferential second mounting surface. The first annular end-section 81 is pressed on the first mounting surface of the outer shell 37 of the support-body 43 and the second annular end-section 85 is pressed on the second mounting surface of the outer shell 37 of the support-body 43. The first mounting surface of the support-body 43 is formed by a first seal 91 of the support-body 43. The second mounting surface of the support-body 43 is formed by a second seal 93 of the support-body 43.

(16) The support-body 43 comprises a circumferential confinement surface 67, which is formed by the cylinder 49. The first ring-element 45 comprises a circumferential confinement surface 69, the second ring-element 47 comprises a circumferential confinement surface 71, and the tire 31 comprises a circumferential confinement surface 73. The confinement surfaces 67, 69, 71, 73 confine a central section of the first cavity 75.

(17) The thickness of the middle-section 83 is at most 1 cm in the radial direction. The tire 31 is formed of at least two layers and the number of layers is at most five. The tire 31 comprises a first layer of the at least two layers and a second layer of the at least two layers, wherein the first layer is arranged on a side of the tire 31 facing the first cavity 75, wherein the second layer forms the outer contact surface 33 of the tire 31. The tire 31 comprises a first layer of the layers and a second layer of the layers. The first inner contact surface 63, the second inner contact surface 65, and the confinement surface 73 of the tire 31 are each formed by the first layer. The outer contact surface 33 of the tire 31 is formed by the second layer.

(18) The support-body 43 comprises a first support-element 103 extending in the radial direction R such that the first ring-element 45 is secured against movement in the axial direction A by the first support-element 103. The support-body 43 comprises a second support-element 105 extending in the radial direction R such that the second ring-element 47 is secured against movement in the axial direction A by the second support-element 105.

(19) FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the first ring-element 45 of the transfer roller 27 in FIG. 3. The first ring-element 45 comprises a fluid-tight cover 77. The fluid-tight cover 77 forms a circumferentially extending second cavity 78. The second cavity 78 is filled with a fluid 79. Similarly, the second ring-element 47 comprises a fluid-tight cover forming a circumferentially extending second cavity, which is also filled with a fluid. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the fluid 79 is a gas. However, the fluid 79 may also be a liquid. Alternatively, the first ring-element 45 and the second ring-element 47 each may also be formed of an elastically deformable solid material.

(20) It is additionally pointed out that “comprising” does not rule out other elements, and “a” or “an” does not rule out a multiplicity. It is also pointed out that features that have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments may also be disclosed as in combination with other features of other exemplary embodiments described above. Reference signs in the claims are not to be regarded as restrictive.

(21) While at least one example embodiment of the invention(s) herein is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the example embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms “comprise” or “comprising” do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms “a” or “one” do not exclude a plural number, and the term “or” means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.