Perforated plate for an application device and corresponding method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9643194-B2
Application number	US-201414766457-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2014
Priority date	Feb 11, 2013
Publication date	May 9, 2017
Grant date	May 9, 2017

Abstract

A perforated plate is provided for an application device for the application of a coating agent, in particular a paint, a sealant, a glue or a separating agent, to a component, in particular to a motor vehicle body component. The perforated plate contains at least one through-hole for passing the coating agent through and a hole exit opening on the side of the perforated plate that is located downstream with a wetting surface that can be wetted during operation by the coating agent. The through-hole, to reduce the wetting tendency, transitions into a protruding pipe stub or has a structure that reduces the wetting tendency and/or improves the flushability, e.g., a microstructuring or a nanostructuring.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A perforated plate for an application device for the application of a coating agent, to a component the coating agent being one of a paint, sealant, and glue, the perforated plate comprising:
at least one through-hole configured to pass the coating agent through, the through hole having an internal diameter of less than 200 micrometers;
a hole inlet opening on an upstream side of the perforated plate;
a hole exit opening on a downstream side of the perforated plate; and
a three-dimensional structuring on at least one of the upstream side of the perforated plate and the downstream side of the perforated plate, the three dimensional structuring having a length of less than 500 micrometers, and a free end that is less than 100 micrometers wherein a wetting tendency is reduced, and,
the perforated plate having a thickness of less than 1 millimeter in the region of the through-hole.

2. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein the structuring comprises a pipe stub that protrudes from the downstream side of the perforated plate into which the through-hole transitions, reducing a wetting surface at the hole exit opening.

3. The perforated plate of claim 2 , wherein:
the through-hole forms a Laval nozzle.

4. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein a cross section of the hole exit opening is one of larger and smaller than a cross-section of the hole inlet opening.

5. The perforated plate of claim 2 , wherein the pipe stub has a wall thickness that tapers conically in a direction of flow.

6. The perforated plate of claim 2 , comprising at least one of the following features:
the pipe stub has an outer circumferential surface which tapers towards a free end of the pipe stub;
the pipe stub has at its free end that is located downstream a mouth opening that is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the pipe stub;
the pipe stub has a wall thickness which is smaller than an internal diameter of the through-hole;
the through-hole has an internal cross-section which is substantially constant along its longitudinal axis;
the pipe stub has a wall thickness of at most 100 micrometers;
the pipe stub between the downstream side of the perforated plate and the free end of the pipe stub has a length in the range from 25%-100% of a thickness of the perforated plate;
the pipe stub between the downstream side of the perforated plate and the free end of the pipe stub has a length that is greater than 10 micrometers and less than 1 millimeter.

7. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein
the perforated plate has more than ten through-holes; and
a surface density of the through-holes, distances between the through-holes, and internal cross-sections of the through-holes are dimensioned such that the coating-agent jets emerging from the through-holes, after impinging on the component, form a coherent coating-agent film.

8. The perforated plate of claim 7 , wherein the through-holes have substantially a same internal cross-section.

9. The perforated plate of claim 7 , wherein the through-holes have different internal cross-sections.

10. The perforated plate of claim 7 , further comprising identical distances between directly neighbouring through-holes.

11. The perforated plate of claim 7 , further comprising different distances between directly neighbouring through-holes.

12. The perforated plate of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of the following features:
the distance between directly neighbouring through-holes is at least equal to three times the internal diameter of the through-holes;
the through-holes are arranged at corners of a polyhedron; and
the through-holes are arranged with longitudinal axes parallel relative to each other and have an angular deviation of less than one degree relative to a surface normal of the perforated plate.

13. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein the at least one through-hole in the perforated plate is produced at least partially by one of the following production methods:
etching; and
laser drilling.

14. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein the perforated plate at least partially is made of a semiconductor material.

15. The perforated plate of claim 1 , further comprising a coating of the perforated plate on at least on side of the perforated plate.

16. The perforated plate of claim 15 , the coating being at least one of a constituent of a sensor, and a constituent of a logic circuit.

17. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein the perforated plate has one of a substantially constant thickness, and, at an edge, a greater thickness than in a central region that includes the through-holes.

18. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein the perforated plate in a region including the through-holes has a thickness of less than one millimeter.

19. The perforated plate of claim 1 , wherein the perforated plate has at least one reinforcing strip, the perforated plate in a region of the through-holes having a lesser thickness than in a region of the reinforcing strip.

20. The perforated plate of claim 19 , wherein the perforated plate at least one of an edge and the reinforcing strip has a thickness of less than two millimeters.

21. An application device for the application of a coating agent to a component, the coating agent being one of a paint, sealant and glue, the application device comprising at least one perforated plate, the perforated plate comprising:
at least one through-hole configured to pass the coating agent through, the through-hole having an internal diameter of less than 200 micrometers;
a hole inlet opening on an upstream side of the perforated plate;
a hole exit opening on a downstream side of the perforated plate; and
a three-dimensional structuring on at least one of the upstream side of the perforated plate and the downstream side of the perforated plate, the three dimensional structuring having a length of less than 500 micrometers and a free end that is less than 100 micrometers wherein a wetting tendency is reduced, and
the perforated plate having a thickness of less than 1 millimeter in the region of the through-hole.

22. The application device of claim 21 , wherein the perforated plate is a constituent of one of the following components:
a) nozzle,
b) nozzle insert,
c) shaping air ring,
d) diaphragm,
e) mixer,
f) screen,
g) valve needle,
h) needle seat.

Assignees

• Duerr Systems Gmbh

Inventors

• Wohr Benjamin
• Fritz Hans-Georg

Classifications

• B05B1/14 Primary

  with multiple outlet openings (B05B1/02, B05B1/26 take precedence); with strainers in or outside the outlet opening · CPC title

• B05B17/0646

  Vibrating plates, i.e. plates being directly subjected to the vibrations, e.g. having a piezoelectric transducer attached thereto · CPC title

• B05B1/185 Primary

  characterised by their outlet element; Mounting arrangements therefor · CPC title

• B05C5/0291

  the material being discharged on the work through discrete orifices as discrete droplets, beads or strips that coalesce on the work or are spread on the work so as to form a continuous coating · CPC title

• B05C5/027

  Coating heads with several outlets, e.g. aligned transversally to the moving direction of a web to be coated (B05C5/0254 takes precedence) · CPC title