PAINT GUN, MATERIAL APPLICATION SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SAME

Abstract

A paint gun for atomizing (in particular by way of compressed-air-assisted atomization) and applying a coating material such as a paint has a material-guiding part, a non-material-guiding part, and a transmitting and/or receiving device for wireless signal transmission. In order to increase the functional reliability and provide optimal operability in the environment in which the coating material is applied, the transmitting and/or receiving device for wireless signal transmission is arranged at a distance from the material-guiding part and is associated with the non-material-guiding part. Alternatively or additionally, an increased functional reliability is achieved by designing the transmitting and/or receiving device for wireless signal transmission in accordance with two different radio standards. Furthermore, a material application system comprising such a paint gun as well as a method for operating same are described.

Claims

1. A paint spray gun for atomization and application of a coating material, the paint spray gun comprising a material-conveying part with a material feed, a nozzle head and a material channel set-up, by means of which a coating material fed to the material feed can be supplied to the nozzle head, wherein the paint spray gun additionally has a non-material-conveying part and a transmitting and/or receiving device for wirelessly transmitting signals, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving device for wirelessly transmitting signals is at a distance from the material-conveying part and is associated with the non-material-conveying part.

2. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the paint spray gun is in the form of a handheld paint spray gun and/or the non-material-conveying part which is in the form of a handling part has a handle.

3. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the paint spray gun is provided with a compressed air connection, from which a compressed air line system leads to the nozzle head.

4. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the paint spray gun has one or more of the following electronic components which are directly or indirectly connected to the transmitting and/or receiving unit: one or more sensor units, one or more actuator units, a display unit, a data storage unit, a data processing unit and/or an energy storage unit, wherein the one or more electronic components are at a distance from the material-conveying part and are associated with the non-material-conveying part.

5. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving device is releasably connected to the paint spray gun.

6. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one pressure measuring channel is provided and is routed from a compressed air chamber in the material-conveying part of the paint spray gun to an electronic component in the form of a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor is at a distance from the material-conveying part and is associated with the non-material-conveying part.

7. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving device is designed to wirelessly transmit signals according to a first radio standard and is additionally designed to wirelessly transmit signals according to a second radio standard, wherein the second radio standard is suitable for wirelessly transmitting signals over a wider range than the first radio standard.

8. A material application system having a paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material application system has at least one module which is separate from the paint spray gun and comprises a transmitting and/or receiving device for wirelessly transmitting signals from and to the transmitting and/or receiving device of the paint spray gun.

9. The material application system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the material application system has at least two modules which are separate from the paint spray gun and each comprise a transmitting and/or receiving device for wirelessly transmitting signals from and to the transmitting and/or receiving device of the paint spray gun, wherein one of the modules is in the form of a near field module for use in a paint spray booth and for transmitting signals from and to the transmitting and/or receiving device of the paint spray gun according to a first radio standard, and/or one of the modules is in the form of a region module for use outside a paint spray booth and for transmitting signals from and to the transmitting and/or receiving device of the paint spray gun according to a second radio standard, wherein the second radio standard is suitable for transmitting signals over a wider range than the first radio standard, wherein the second radio standard is suitable for transmitting signals from inside a paint spray booth through a booth wall, to the outside or vice versa.

10. A method for operating the material application system as claimed in claim 8, wherein information relating to proposals for equipment and setting parameters or other operating parameters of the paint spray gun for a coating task and/or measured values of setting parameters or other operating parameters of a coating task carried out with the paint spray gun is transmitted by transmitting signals between the transmitting and/or receiving device of the paint spray gun and the transmitting and/or receiving device of the separate module or the transmitting and/or receiving devices of the separate modules.

11. The method for operating a material application system as claimed in claim 10, wherein, proposals for setting parameters or other operating parameters of the coating task with the paint spray gun are determined on the basis of an identification of a coating material for a pending coating task with the paint spray gun and on the basis of further operating and/or environmental parameters, and are transmitted from the separate module or from the separate modules to the paint spray gun and/or vice versa by means of the transmitting and/or receiving devices.

12. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 3, wherein the compressed air connection is arranged on the non-material-conveying part.

13. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 6, wherein the pressure sensor is associated with the non-material-conveying part, and wherein the pressure measuring channel is formed, at least in sections, by a bore in the material-conveying part and/or in the non-material-conveying part of the paint spray gun.

14. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first radio standard is Bluetooth and the second radio standard is LoRawan, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving device respectively has an antenna for transmitting signals according to the different radio standards.

15. The material application system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the near field module is a portable near field module and/or the region module is a stationary region module.

16. The method for operating a material application system as claimed in claim 11, wherein, the proposals for setting parameters or other operating parameters of the coating task with the paint spray gun are automatically determined, and wherein the identification of the coating material is determined by means of a barcode reader.

17. The paint spray gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving device is designed to wirelessly transmit signals according to a plurality of radio standards and wherein the plurality of radio standards includes at least a first radio standard and a second radio standard, wherein the second radio standard is suitable for wirelessly transmitting signals over a wider range than the first radio standard.

Description

[0058] The invention is explained below on the basis of exemplary embodiments. In the figures:

[0059] FIG. 1 shows a paint spray gun having a removable electronic module which comprises a transmitting and/or receiving unit,

[0060] FIG. 2 shows a sectional illustration of the front section of the paint spray gun according to FIG. 1,

[0061] FIG. 3 shows the schematic structure of a wirelessly networked material application system having two paint spray guns according to FIG. 1.

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a handheld paint spray gun 1 for the compressed-air-assisted atomization and application of a coating material. The paint spray gun 1 is in the form of a HVLP paint spray gun. Alternatively, it could also be in the form of a compliant paint spray gun.

[0063] The paint spray gun 1 comprises a base body 2 having a material-conveying part 3 and a non-material-conveying part 4 which is in the form of a handling part with a handle 5 for a painter. An actuation lever 6 is pivotably fitted to the material-conveying part 3. A compressed air connection 7, for example for a compressed air supply hose which is not shown, is provided at the lower end of the handle 5. Starting from the compressed air connection 7, supplied compressed air is guided, by means of a compressed air line system inside the paint spray gun, to a nozzle head 9 of the paint spray gun 1 via a round/broad jet setting device 8. The round/broad jet setting device 8 is used to set the division of the supplied compressed air into atomization compressed air and horn compressed air which are separately supplied to the nozzle head 9. At least one atomization compressed air region 10 and one horn compressed air region 11 (FIG. 2) are therefore formed in the material-conveying part 3 of the paint spray gun 1 downstream of the round/broad jet setting device 8.

[0064] The material-conveying part 3 has a material feed 12 in the form of a flow cup connection. The material-conveying part 3 of the paint spray gun 1 is also provided with the interchangeable nozzle head 9. Under the influence of gravity and on account of a suction effect of the atomization air emerging at the nozzle head 9, the coating material, for example paint, is conveyed, via a material channel set-up 13 (FIG. 2), from a flow cup connected to the flow cup connection to the nozzle head 9.

[0065] The paint spray gun 1 also has an electronic module 14 integrated in the handle 5. The electronic module 14 is removable, with the result that it can be temporarily removed, for example for cleaning the paint spray gun 1 with solvent. In an alternative configuration, the entire handle 5 can also be removable as a unit from the upper part of the paint spray gun 1 which comprises the material-conveying part 3. In both cases, the electronic module 14 is at a distance from the material-conveying part 3 of the paint spray gun 1 and is associated with the non-material-conveying part 4.

[0066] The electronic module 14 comprises, inter alia, a transmitting and/or receiving device 15 for wirelessly transmitting signals, which device is indicated in FIG. 1. is The transmitting and/or receiving device 15 is designed to wirelessly transmit signals according to two different radio standards. Bluetooth LE 5.0 is used as the first radio standard. LoRawan at 433/866 MHz or 910 MHz is used as the second radio standard. The second radio standard is suitable for wirelessly transmitting signals over a wider range than the first radio standard and through obstacles which may be present (for example the wall of a paint spray booth). The transmitting and/or receiving device 15 is respectively provided with an antenna accommodated in the paint spray gun 1 for each of the two radio standards.

[0067] In addition to the transmitting and/or receiving device 15, the electronic module 14 has a plurality of electronic components which are directly or indirectly connected to the transmitting and/or receiving unit 15. The electronic module 14 therefore comprises two pressure sensor units, a data storage unit, a data processing unit (CPU) and an energy storage unit in the form of a contactlessly rechargeable battery. The charging coil 16 of the battery is indicated in FIG. 1.

[0068] The electronic module 14 comprises a circuit board to which, inter alia, the pressure sensor units in the form of SMD components, a data storage unit and the data processing unit (CPU) are applied. The components, in particular the sensors, need not be directly arranged on the circuit board, but rather may also be separated from the circuit board and may be connected to the circuit board or to components on the circuit board or to other components or units separated from the circuit board in a wired or wireless manner.

[0069] As already explained above, in another exemplary embodiment, other or additional electronic components, such as an actuator unit and a display unit etc., may be provided.

[0070] The pressure sensor units or pressure sensors are used to measure the air pressure in two different pressure chambers 17, 18 in the material-conveying part 3 of the paint spray gun 1. The pressure chambers 17, 18, from each of which a pressure measuring channel 19, 20 is routed to one of the pressure sensors, are shown in FIG. 2 in which the front section of the paint spray gun 1 is illustrated in section.

[0071] The interchangeable nozzle head 9 is screwed onto a front section of the base body 2 of the paint spray gun 1. FIG. 2 shows a section of the material channel set-up 13 which opens into the nozzle head 9. The nozzle head 9 comprises a screwed-in material nozzle 21 surrounded by an air nozzle arrangement 22 which forms an outlet gap 23 for the atomization air and is provided with two opposite horns 24 with horn air nozzles 25. The air nozzle arrangement 22 is interchangeably fastened to the base body 2 of the paint spray gun 1 by means of an air nozzle ring 26. A baffle disk 27 is permanently connected to the material nozzle 21 and is concomitantly removed when disassembling the nozzle head 9.

[0072] It is clear from FIG. 2 that the first compressed air chamber 17 is formed by the atomization compressed air region 10 or is arranged in the atomization compressed air region 10. The second compressed air chamber 18 is formed by the horn compressed air region 11 or is arranged in the horn compressed air region 11. Both compressed air chambers 17, 18 directly adjoin the nozzle head 9, that is to say part of the wall of the pressure chambers 17, 18 is formed by the nozzle head 9.

[0073] The pressure measuring channels 19, 20 indicated in FIG. 2 are formed in the material-conveying part 3 and in the non-material-conveying part 4 of the paint spray gun 1 as a bore and open in the electronic module 14.

[0074] There is a precise pressure measurement of the atomization compressed air and of the horn compressed area in the immediate vicinity of the atomization process. However, the pressure sensors are accommodated at a distance from the material-conveying part 3 of the paint spray gun 1 and therefore in a well-protected manner in the electronic module 14 which is arranged on the handle 5. The measured values from the pressure sensors can be stored, for example, by the data storage unit, can be processed by the data processing unit and can be transmitted to another module of the material application system 28 by means of the transmitting and/or receiving device 15.

[0075] An exemplary structure of the material application system 28 is explained on the basis of FIG. 3.

[0076] The material application system 28 has, for example, two paint spray guns 1 according to FIG. 1 which are each provided with an electronic module 14. A portable near field module 30 is also provided inside a paint spray booth 29 and is in the form of a wristwatch. The wristwatch can be worn by a painter working with the two paint spray guns 1. The wristwatch is suitable for bidirectionally transmitting signals with the paint spray guns 1 with the aid of the Bluetooth LE 5.0 radio standard. It has a display which can be used to display different items of data and information. For example, the pressure values measured by the pressure sensors in the paint spray guns 1 can be displayed. The watch also makes it possible to input target values, for example for the measured pressures, and provides an acoustic, optical or haptic (vibration) alarm or warning function if the measured actual value differs (too greatly) from a predefined target value.

[0077] It goes without saying that further paint spray guns 1 or further near field modules 30, which may have a different design to the wristwatch, can be incorporated in the modular and standardized network of the material application system 28.

[0078] A stationary region module 31 (gateway) is arranged outside the paint spray booth and is suitable for bidirectionally transmitting signals with the two paint spray guns 1 according to the LoRawan radio standard. The region module 31 has Internet capability, for example, has a powerful CPU and a display. It is connected to a PC 32 on which it is possible to install different software applications which evaluate data transmitted by the paint spray guns 1 and generate data for transmission to the paint spray guns 1.

[0079] The region module 31 may also be connected to a mobile telephone 33, a tablet etc., on which it is likewise possible to install different software applications which evaluate data transmitted by the paint spray guns 1 and generate data for transmission to the paint spray guns 1. The bidirectional signal transmission between the mobile telephone 33 etc. and the region module 31 is carried out according to the first radio standard (Bluetooth). If the near field module 30 comes into the vicinity of the region module 31 from the paint spray booth 29, it can also receive data/information from the region module 31 or can transmit data/information to the latter according to the first radio standard (Bluetooth).

[0080] During operation of the material application system 28, information relating to proposals for setting parameters or other operating parameters of the paint spray gun 1 for a coating task and/or measured values of setting parameters or other operating parameters of a coating task carried out with the paint spray gun 1 is transmitted between the transmitting and/or receiving device 15 of the paint spray guns 1, the near field module and the region module.

[0081] In particular, a paint for a pending car paint repair job, for example, can be first of all identified by means of a barcode reader which is connected to the network. A software application installed on the PC 32 reads the information from a data sheet for the paint which is stored in a database. On the basis of the information in the data sheet and taking into account currently measured environmental parameters in the paint spray booth 29, for example, proposals for the nozzle selection and (target values) for the pressure of the atomization compressed air or the horn compressed air are determined. The proposals (target values) are transmitted to the paint spray gun(s) 1 and are possibly transmitted from there on to the wristband watch for display.

[0082] The described paint spray gun, the described material application system and the described method for operating a material application system can be used, in particular, in the industrial sector, that is to say it can be integrated in non-handheld automatic or robot paint spray guns or can be used therefor. It is also possible to incorporate components in already existing networks (Industry 4.0, digitization), for example in in-house networks, in order to make it possible to interchange data between different departments or different hierarchies. Alternatively or additionally, it may be possible to incorporate components in a network with a connection to a device outside one's own company in order to make it possible to interchange data with other companies, authorities or other devices or persons. These may be, for example, suppliers, customers, partners, supervisory bodies. In particular, data from a paint spraying company can be sent to a supplier of paint, paint spray tools, in particular paint spray guns, or spare parts, in particular nozzle sets for paint spray guns or cartridges for filters, in order to enable preventative maintenance or the delivery of a spare part on the basis of the captured operating data. However, provision may also be made for data to be transmitted to a customer, with the result that the latter can track the status of his paint spray order. The components can be incorporated, for example, via LAN, WLAN or other wired or wireless transmission technologies.