Color change for powder coating material application system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10058884-B2
Application number	US-201514722238-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2015
Priority date	Jun 3, 2004
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

A color changer has a common feed passage that is connected to two or more inlet passages. The common feed passage can be reverse purged in a direction that is opposite a direction of powder flow through the common feed passage. A valve element seals a supply port that connects the inlet passage to the common feed passage to eliminate dead space and form a near bore line seal. The valve element is an elastic material that expands in response to applied compressed air inside the valve element.

First claim

We claim:

1. A powder coating material system, comprising:
a powder spray gun;
a supply of powder coating material;
a purge outlet; and
a pump to transfer powder coating material from said supply of powder coating material to said powder spray gun, said pump comprising a pump inlet and a pump outlet, a feed hose that is connectable to said supply of powder coating material and said pump inlet, a powder spray gun hose that is connectable between said pump outlet and said powder spray gun,
wherein during a supply mode, said pump is operable to apply negative air pressure to pull powder coating material from said supply of powder coating material through said feed hose and into said pump inlet, and is operable to apply positive air pressure to push powder coating material from said pump outlet through said powder spray gun hose to said powder spray gun, and
wherein during a purge mode, said pump is operable to apply positive air pressure to said pump outlet to push powder coating material from said pump outlet through said powder spray gun hose to said powder spray gun, and to apply positive air pressure to said pump inlet to push powder coating material from said pump inlet through said feed hose back in the direction of said supply of powder coating material and to said purge outlet.

2. The powder coating material system of claim 1 , further comprising a first pinch valve to control flow of powder coating material from said supply of powder coating material into said pump inlet, and a second pinch valve to control flow of powder coating material from said pump outlet to said powder spray gun hose.

3. The powder coating material system of claim 1 , wherein during said purge mode, said pump is operable to apply positive pressure to push powder coating material from said pump outlet through said powder spray gun hose to said powder spray gun and simultaneously to apply positive pressure to said pump inlet to push powder coating material from said pump inlet through said feed hose back in the direction of said supply of powder coating material and to said purge outlet.

4. The powder coating material system of claim 1 , wherein said supply of powder coating material comprises a number of supplies of powder coating material, with each supply of said number of supplies being selectable for supplying powder coating material to said pump.

5. The powder coating material system of claim 4 , wherein powder coating material passes under positive pressure from said pump inlet through said feed hose in the direction of a selected one or more of said number of supplies of powder coating material and to said purge outlet.

6. The powder coating material system of claim 4 , further comprising a powder coating material changer, said powder coating material changer comprising a number of inlets selectively connectable to a common feed passage, each inlet of said number of inlets being connectable to a corresponding one of said number of supplies of powder coating material.

7. The powder coating material system of claim 6 , wherein said common feed passage is connectable to said pump inlet.

8. The powder coating material system of claim 7 , further comprising a first pinch valve to control flow of powder coating material from said common feed passage into said pump inlet.

9. A method for purging a powder coating material system having a pump, the pump having a pump inlet and a pump outlet, a powder spray gun, a supply of powder coating material, a feed hose that is connectable to said supply of powder coating material and said pump inlet, a powder spray gun hose that is connectable between said pump outlet and said powder spray gun, and a purge outlet, the method comprising:
during a supply mode, applying negative pressure to pull powder coating material from said supply of powder coating material through said feed hose into the pump inlet and applying positive air pressure to push powder coating material from the pump outlet through said powder spray gun hose to the powder spray gun, and
wherein during a purge mode, applying positive air pressure to push powder coating material from the pump outlet to the powder spray gun through said powder spray gun hose and applying positive air pressure to push powder coating material from the pump inlet through said feed hose back in the direction of the supply of powder coating material and to said purge outlet.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the powder coating material system further comprises a first pinch valve and a second pinch valve, the method further comprising operating the first pinch valve to control flow of the powder coating material through said feed hose into the pump inlet, and operating the second pinch valve to control flow of the powder coating material from the pump outlet through said powder spray gun hose to the powder spray gun.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising selecting the supply of powder coating material from a plurality of supplies of powder coating material that share a common feed passage.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein during said supply mode, pulling the powder coating material from the selected supply of powder coating material through said common feed passage and said feed hose into the pump inlet.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the powder coating material system further comprises a first pinch valve and a second pinch valve, the method further comprising operating the first pinch valve to control flow of the powder coating material from said selected supply of powder coating material through said feed hose into the pump inlet, and operating the second pinch valve to control flow of the powder coating material from the pump outlet through said powder spray gun hose to the powder spray gun.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein during said purge mode, pushing the powder coating material from the pump inlet through said feed hose and said common feed passage back in the direction of said selected supply of powder coating material and to said purge outlet.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein during said purge mode, pushing the powder coating material from the pump inlet through said feed hose and said common feed passage back in the direction of the selected supply of powder coating material and to said purge outlet.

Assignees

• Nordson Corp

Inventors

• Fulkerson Terrence M
• Thompson Terry John
• Dailidas Jeffery Edward
• Keeger Kenneth A
• Schroeder Joseph G

Classifications

• B05B12/14

  for supplying a selected one of a plurality of liquids or other fluent materials {or several in selected proportions} to a {spray apparatus, e.g. to a} single spray outlet · CPC title

• B05B7/1404

  Arrangements for supplying particulate material · CPC title

• B05B15/52 Primary

  for removal of clogging particles · CPC title

• B05B12/149

  characterised by colour change manifolds or valves therefor (B05B12/1409 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B05B7/1459 Primary

  comprising a chamber, inlet and outlet valves upstream and downstream the chamber and means for alternately sucking particulate material into and removing particulate material from the chamber through the valves (conveying material in bulk by using a combination of gas pressure and suction B65G53/28; pumps in general F04B; apparatus for repeatedly measuring and separating a predetermined volume of fluent solid material from a supply or container G01F11/00) · CPC title