Modular nozzle having a wear-resistant housing part

Abstract

A nozzle for atomizing coating materials, in particular coating powder, includes a housing, which has an inlet-side opening and an outlet-side opening, and the openings are connected to each other by a passage channel. The housing has an inner housing part, which defines the passage channel, and an outer housing part, which is designed to detachably connect the nozzle to a coating device. In order to optimize the production process for the nozzle and to reduce costs, the inner housing part and the outer housing part are designed as separate individual pieces.

Claims

1. A nozzle for spraying coating material, wherein the nozzle comprises a housing having a first, inlet-side opening and a second, outlet-side opening with the openings being connected together by means of a through-channel, wherein the housing comprises an inner housing part and an outer housing part, wherein neither the inner housing part nor the outer housing part of the nozzle is part of a coating mechanism and wherein the nozzle is detachably connectable to the coating mechanism via the outer nozzle part, wherein the inner housing part and the outer housing part are formed as separate individual component parts, wherein: the second, outlet-side opening has a reduced diameter in comparison to the first, inlet-side opening and/or the through-channel, for directing a spray of coating material therefrom; the inner housing part is formed from a different material than the outer housing part, the inner housing part is formed from polytetrafluoroethylene the through-channel is defined solely by the inner housing part, the outer housing part never comes into contact with the coating material when spraying coating material with the nozzle, the outer housing part comprises an interior projection that extends inward from the outer housing part at a position between first and second opposite axial ends of the outer housing part, the inner housing part comprises an exterior groove at a position between first and second opposite axial ends of the inner housing part, and the interior projection of the outer housing part has a first shoulder facing the inlet-side opening of the housing, which is formed to positively engage a second shoulder in the exterior groove of the inner housing part that faces the outlet-side opening of the housing.

2. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the outer housing part is formed from polypropylene.

3. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the inner housing part is detachably connected to the outer housing part.

4. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the interior projection of the outer housing part is designed such that the height of the projection continually increases toward the inlet-side opening of the housing until reaching the shoulder of the projection.

5. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the inner and/or the outer housing part is a turned part.

6. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the inner and/or the outer housing part is an injection-molded part.

7. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the second opening of the housing is configured as a slot.

8. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the inner housing part comprises a region of increased diameter that forms an arrester at a first axial end of the region of increased diameter facing the inlet-side opening of the housing, and the outer housing part is configured such that the second axial end thereof contacts the arrester to prevent further displacement of the inner housing part toward the inlet-side opening of the housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The following will draw on the embodiment depicted in the figures in describing the inventive nozzle for spraying coating material in greater detail.

(2) Shown are:

(3) FIG. 1a: a perspective frontal view of a first embodiment of the inventive nozzle for spraying coating materials;

(4) FIG. 1b: a perspective rear view of the embodiment of the inventive nozzle shown in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 2: a side view of the first embodiment of the inventive nozzle shown in FIG. 1a;

(6) FIG. 3a: a cross-sectional view along the intersecting axis A-A of FIG. 2;

(7) FIG. 3b: an enlarged depiction of section A from FIG. 3a;

(8) FIG. 4a: a cross-sectional view along the intersecting axis B-B of FIG. 3a; and

(9) FIG. 4b: an enlarged depiction of section B from FIG. 4a.

(10) For reasons of clarity, similar components or components have the same effect will be provided with the same reference numerals in the following detailed description of the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) FIGS. 1a and 1b are perspective views of a first embodiment of the nozzle 1 for spraying coating material. The nozzle 1 for spraying coating material, particularly coating powder, has a housing comprising a first inlet-side opening 11 and a second outlet-side opening 12. The two openings 11 and 12 are thereby at least partially connected together by means of a through-channel 13 which, in the embodiment depicted, is of particularly cylindrical configuration. The through-channel 13 thereby serves to enable coating material, e.g. coating powder, to be able to flow through the nozzle 1. To this end, the nozzle 1 is detachably connected to a (not shown) coating mechanism so that the through-channel 13 can align with a powder dispending channel of the coating mechanism.

(12) With respect to FIGS. 3a and 3b as well as 4a and 4b, it is further noted that the housing comprises an inner housing part 20 as well as an outer housing part 30. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the inner housing part 20 is thereby formed separately from the outer housing part 30; i.e. the inner housing part 20 as well as the outer housing part 30 are each formed as separate individual component parts. As can be seen, the outer housing section 30 can form the first, inlet-side opening 11, for example, while the inner housing part 20 defines the second, outlet-side opening 12.

(13) The first inlet-side opening 11, which is formed by the outer housing part 30, serves to receive a (not shown) powder channel of a coating mechanism. Said powder channel is connected to the nozzle 1 particularly by an inlet-side receiving area 31 of the outer housing part 30. A rear connecting area 32 of the outer housing part 30 is in contrast slipped over the (not shown) coating mechanism in order to detachably connect the nozzle 1 to the coating mechanism.

(14) It is also conceivable for the rear connecting area 32 to exhibit an internal screw in order for the nozzle 1 to be screwed onto a coating mechanism. In other words, the receiving area 31 and the connecting area 32 of the outer housing part 30 are provided so that a detachable connection can be established to the coating mechanism.

(15) The through-channel 13, which comes to align flush with the powder channel of the coating mechanism when the nozzle 1 is installed, is defined solely by the inner housing part 20, as can be further seen from FIGS. 3a and 4a. The inner housing part 20 exhibits an inner diameter hereto which approximately corresponds to the inner diameter of a coating mechanism powder channel. The interior surface of the inner housing part 20 is preferably made from a material which exhibits particularly favorable frictional properties as well as long service life. For example, the inner housing 20 can be made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to that end.

(16) The outer housing part 30, on the other hand, can be made from a different material than the inner housing part 20 in order to save costs. Since, according to the invention, the outer housing part 30 never comes into contact with the coating material, it can be formed from a more economical material than the inner housing part 20. Polypropylene is for example suitable hereto.

(17) The inner housing part 20 is detachably connected to the outer housing part 30. A click mechanism, which is particularly visible in FIG. 3b, is used to that end in the depicted embodiment. In order to form the click mechanism, the outer housing part 30 comprises an interior projection 34 having a shoulder 35 along its interior diameter which is designed to positively engage in an exterior groove 21 of the inner housing part 20. It is recognizable from a comparison of FIGS. 3b and 4b that the groove 21 according to the embodiment depicted here is only provided at specific regions along the periphery of the inner housing part 20. A similar configuration is also seen with the projection 34 of the outer housing part 30. It is also conceivable for a plurality of projections 34 and grooves 21 to be provided in order to ensure the necessary holding in place of the inner housing part 20 within the outer housing part 30. Because the two housing parts 20 and 30 are of substantially cylindrical configuration, it is accordingly also conceivable for the exterior groove 21 of the inner housing part 20 to be configured as a fully annular groove while projection 34 likewise runs along the entire interior surface of the inner housing part 30.

(18) The projection 34 and the groove 21 are advantageously configured such that the inner housing part 20 can be slid into the interior of the outer housing part 30 after the two housing parts 20, 30 have been produced. It is particularly provided hereto for the interior projection 34 of the outer housing part 30 to be configured such that the height of the projection 34 continues to steadily increase in the direction of the inlet-side opening of the housing until the shoulder 35 reaches the projection 34. In other words, the projection 34 exhibits an inclined bearing surface facing the internal housing part over which the inner housing part 20 can slide when the housing 10 is assembled. As soon as the exterior groove 21 of the inner housing part 20 is slid over the entire projection 34, the groove engages with the shoulder 35 of the projection 34 at its inlet-side shoulder 22.

(19) To prevent the inner housing part 20 from sliding too far into the outer housing part 30, the inner housing part 20 comprises a region 24 of increased diameter. This hereby forms an arrester 25 which contacts a front end region 36 of the outer housing part and thus prevents the first housing part 20 from displacing further in the direction of the inlet-side opening 11.

(20) The present invention is not limited to the embodiment depicted in the drawings. In particular, the nozzle 1 is not limited to the depicted embodiment of the nozzle 1 as a flat spray nozzle but rather can also be provided as any other type of nozzle. Also, instead of the click mechanism, it is of course likewise conceivable for alternative types of connections to be provided between the two housing parts 20 and 30 such as, for example, a screw connection of internal and external threads.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(21) 1 nozzle 10 housing 11 inlet-side opening 12 outlet-side opening 13 through-channel 20 inner housing part 21 exterior groove 22 shoulder 24 region of increased diameter 25 arrester 30 outer housing part 31 receiving area 32 connecting area 34 interior projection 35 shoulder 36 front region