Powder supplying device and method for automatically cleaning a powder supplying device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9387995-B2
Application number	US-201113807468-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2011
Priority date	Jun 30, 2010
Publication date	Jul 12, 2016
Grant date	Jul 12, 2016

Abstract

A powder supplying device for a powder coating installation with at least one closable powder container, which has a substantially cuboidal powder chamber for coating powder and a fluidizing device for introducing fluidizing compressed air into the powder chamber. At least one inlet opening is provided in a side wall of the powder container for feeding coating powder during a powder coating operation of the powder coating installation or for introducing cleaning compressed air during a cleaning operation of the coating installation. At least one outlet is provided for discharging fluidizing compressed air introduced into the powder chamber or for discharging cleaning air introduced into the powder chamber during the cleaning operation together with residual powder transported along with the cleaning compressed air. At least one powder feed line and at least one cleaning compressed-air feed line are connected via a diverter to the at least one inlet opening.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A powder supplying device for a powder coating installation, the powder supplying device comprising:
at least one closed or closable powder container, which has a substantially cuboidal powder chamber for coating powder and a fluidizing device for introducing fluidizing compressed air into the powder chamber,
wherein in a side wall of the powder container at least one inlet opening, opening out into the powder chamber, is provided to which a compressed air source is connected or connectable for introducing during a cleaning operation cleaning compressed air in the powder chamber for removing residual powder from the powder chamber,

wherein at least one outlet being provided with an outlet opening, leading out from the powder chamber, is provided for discharging fluidizing compressed air introduced into the powder chamber or for discharging cleaning air introduced into the powder chamber during the cleaning operation together with residual powder transported along with the cleaning compressed air,
wherein the at least one inlet opening and the outlet opening point into the same direction, and wherein the outlet opening is provided in an upper region of the side wall of the powder container and the at least one inlet opening is provided in a lower region of the side wall of the powder container.

2. Powder supplying device according to claim 1 ,
at least one powder discharge device also being provided, which discharge device is configured to be connected via a powder discharge opening to the powder chamber for sucking coating powder out of the powder chamber as and when required during the powder coating operation of the powder coating installation.

3. Powder supplying device according to claim 2 ,
the at least one powder discharge device having an injector, which is connected to the powder discharge opening out via a powder discharge opening in the powder chamber, the powder discharge opening having an elliptical form.

4. Powder supplying device according to claim 3 ,
the injector being arranged in relation to the powder container at a location which is higher than the highest powder level that is configured to be set in the powder chamber, and
a powder discharge channel being formed within a side wall of the powder container.

5. Powder supplying device according to claim 4 ,
a multiplicity of powder discharge devices being provided, the powder discharge channels of the multiplicity of powder discharge devices being formed within two opposite side walls of the powder container, and the two opposite side walls of the powder container being respectively adjacent to a side wall of the powder container in which the at least one inlet opening is provided.

6. Powder supplying device according to claim 2 ,
an immersion body that is configured to be mechanically inserted into the powder chamber also being provided for finely cleaning the at least one powder discharge device during the cleaning operation of the powder coating installation.

7. Powder supplying device according to claim 6 ,
the immersion body having at least one purging compressed-air inlet, which in the inserted state of the immersion body is configured to be connected to the at least one inlet opening provided in the side wall the powder container for feeding cleaning compressed air to a compressed-air line system of the immersion body; and
the immersion body having at least one purging compressed-air outlet, which is connected to the compressed-air line system and in the inserted state of the immersion body is configured to be connected to the powder discharge opening of the at least one powder discharge device for driving out residual powder from the powder discharge device with the aid of the cleaning compressed air.

8. Powder supplying device according to claim 7 ,
the at least one purging compressed-air inlet of the immersion body being configured in such a way that, in the inserted state of the immersion body, it is aligned such that it is centered with regard to the at least one inlet opening provided in the side wall of the powder container for automatically connecting the at least one purging compressed-air inlet to the inlet opening when the immersion body is inserted into the powder chamber.

9. Powder supplying device according to claim 7 ,
the at least one purging compressed-air outlet of the immersion body being formed in such a way that, in the inserted state of the immersion body, it is aligned such that it is centred with regard to the powder discharge opening of the at least one powder discharge device for automatically connecting the at least one purging compressed-air outlet of the immersion body to the powder discharge opening of the at least one powder discharge device when the immersion body is inserted into the powder chamber.

10. Method for automatically cleaning a powder supplying device, the method comprising:
obtaining the powder supplying device according to claim 9 ;
placing the obtained powder supplying device into a configuration such that:
a) a powder feed line is disconnected in terms of flow from the at least one inlet opening; and
b) the at least one cleaning compressed-air feed line is connected in terms of flow to the at least one inlet opening; and
introducing cleaning compressed air into the powder chamber and thereby removing residual powder from the powder chamber, wherein

the cleaning compressed air is introduced such that the cleaning compressed air is discharged together with residual powder transported along with the cleaning compressed air from the powder chamber via the at least one outlet during the cleaning operation.

11. Method according to claim 10 , further comprising, prior to placing the powder supply cleaning device into the configuration meeting feature a), opening a powder outlet provided in a bottom wall of the powder container of the powder supply cleaning device and thereby removing coating powder that may be present in the powder chamber.

12. Method according to claim 10 , wherein:
the powder supplying device has a first activatable valve that is a pinch valve, which is arranged between the inlet opening and a line branch, a powder feed line and at least one cleaning compressed-air feed line being connected to the line branch,
the powder supplying device also has a second activatable valve that is a pinch valve, which is arranged between the line branch and the powder feed line,
the powder supplying device also has a third activatable valve that is a pinch valve, which is arranged between the line branch and at least one cleaning compressed-air feed line, and
the second activatable valve is closed in the configuration meeting feature a) and the first and third activatable valves are opened in the configuration meeting feature b).

13. Method according to claim 10 , wherein the action of introducing cleaning compressed air into the powder chamber includes the following method steps:
introducing cleaning compressed air that is compressed to a reduced pressure value into the powder chamber, the reduced pressure value lying between 2 bar and 3 bar; and
introducing cleaning compressed air that is compressed to a normal pressure value into the powder chamber, the normal pressure value being 6 bar.

14. Method according to claim 13 ,
wherein the action of introducing cleaning compressed air that is compressed to a normal pressure value into the powder chamber includes introducing the cleaning compressed air into the powder chamber in a pulsed manner.

15. Method according to claim 13 ,
wherein the action of introducing cleaning com

Assignees

• Mauchle Felix
• Honegger Norbert
• Steinemann Mark
• Michael Hanspeter
• Gema Switzerland Gmbh

Inventors

• Mauchle Felix
• Honegger Norbert
• Steinemann Mark
• Michael Hanspeter

Classifications

• B05B7/1404 Primary

  Arrangements for supplying particulate material · CPC title

• B05B15/1229

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B05B15/1285

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• Y02P70/36

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B65G53/04 Primary

  Conveying materials in bulk pneumatically through pipes or tubes; Air slides · CPC title