阅读说明：本技术 包含轴向柱塞泵且用于将流体产品涂抹至基底的设备 (Device for applying a fluid product to a substrate, comprising an axial piston pump ) 是由 罗曼·盖伊特 菲利普·德·塔霍特 于 2018-04-17 设计创作，主要内容包括：本涂抹设备(8)用于将至少一种流体产品(35)涂抹至基底上,包括涂抹构件(20),用于成形每一流体产品(35)从而使其可以涂抹至基底上,所述涂抹元件(20)具有供所述流体产品(35)流出所述涂抹设备(8)的出口孔(23)。所述涂抹设备(8)还包括用于至少一种流体产品(35)的计量泵(24)和供应设备(32),所述计量泵(24)用于向所述涂抹构件(20)供应所述流体产品(35),所述供应设备(32)用于将流体产品(35)供应至所述计量泵(24)。所述计量泵(24)由轴向柱塞泵组成。(The application device (8) for applying at least one fluid product (35) to a substrate comprises an application member (20) for shaping each fluid product (35) so that it can be applied to a substrate, the application member (20) having an outlet orifice (23) for the fluid product (35) to flow out of the application device (8). The application device (8) further comprises a metering pump (24) for at least one fluid product (35), the metering pump (24) being intended to supply the fluid product (35) to the application member (20), and a supply device (32) intended to supply the fluid product (35) to the metering pump (24). The metering pump (24) consists of an axial plunger pump.)

1. An application apparatus (8) for applying at least one fluid product (35) on a substrate, the application apparatus (8) comprising an application member (20) for shaping each fluid product (35) for application onto the substrate, the application member (20) having an outlet orifice (23) for the fluid product (35) located outside the application apparatus (8), the application apparatus (8) further comprising a metering pump (24) for at least one fluid product (35) and a supply apparatus (32), the metering pump (24) being intended to supply the fluid product (35) to the application member (20), the supply apparatus (32) being intended to supply the fluid product (35) to the metering pump (24), characterized in that the metering pump (24) consists of an axial piston pump.

2. The application apparatus (8) according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply apparatus (32) is adapted to supply the fluid product (35) to the metering pump (24) at a higher pressure than the fluid product (35) leaving the metering pump (24).

3. the application apparatus (8) according to claim 2, wherein the supply apparatus (32) comprises a booster pump (40) and a booster duct (42) fluidly connecting an outlet (44) of the booster pump (40) to an inlet (38) of the metering pump (24).

4. The application apparatus (8) according to claim 3, wherein the booster pump (40) consists of a double-acting pump.

5. The application apparatus (8) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the supply apparatus (32) comprises a container (34) containing the fluid product (35), the inlet (46) of the booster pump (40) being fluidly connected to the container (34).

6. The application apparatus (8) according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply apparatus (32) is adapted to supply the fluid product (35) to the metering pump (24) at a lower pressure than the fluid product (35) leaving the metering pump (24).

7. The application apparatus (8) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the viscosity of the fluid product (35) is between 1 and 2 million centipoises, advantageously between 15 and 250 centipoises or between 3000 and 300000 centipoises.

8. Application device (8) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising a valve (31) interposed fluidically between the metering pump (24) and the application member (20).

9. An application apparatus (8) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising a motor for rotating the axial piston pump.

10. An application apparatus (8) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the metering pump (24) and the application member (20) together form a monolithic assembly.

11. Device (2) for applying a fluid product (35) on a substrate, characterized in that said device (2) comprises an articulated arm (10) formed by a plurality of segments (12) articulated to one another, a wrist (14) mounted at one end of said articulated arm (10), and an application apparatus (8) according to any one of the preceding claims, the application member (20) of said application apparatus (8) being attached on said wrist (14).

12. Device (2) according to claim 11, characterized in that the metering pump (24) is attached to one of the segments (12) of the articulated arm (10), preferably to the segment (12) closest to the wrist (14).

13. Device (2) according to claim 12, characterized in that the metering pump (24) is arranged at the wrist (14).

14. Device (2) according to claim 12, characterized in that the metering pump (24) is arranged at a distance of less than 1m, preferably less than 50cm, from the application member (20).

15. A method for applying a fluid product (35) to a substrate, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:

-providing an application device (8) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and

-supplying the fluid product (35) to the metering pump (24).

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device for applying fluid products to a substrate, comprising an application member for shaping each fluid product for application to the substrate, said application member having an outlet orifice for said fluid product, located externally to the application device, said application device further comprising a metering pump for at least one fluid product for supplying said fluid product to said application member, and a device for supplying the fluid product to the metering pump.

"fluid product" here and hereinafter refers to a product having a viscosity of between 1 Centipoise (CPs) and 2 million centipoise, for example, measured using a Brookfield Plan Cone viscometer at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. The expression therefore covers products in the liquid state, preferably deformable and with low viscosity, and products generally described as "pasty" which are more viscous than liquid and are in an intermediate state between liquid and solid state.

The invention also relates to an application robot comprising said application device, and to a method for applying a fluid product onto a substrate using said application device.

background

in the case of application of a fluid product on a surface, for example, in order to deposit a line of glue on said surface or to coat said surface with paint, it is sometimes necessary to precisely control the flow rate of the fluid product leaving the application device. In this case, reference is made to "metering". For this reason, it is most common to use a single-acting feed pump as the pump, referred to as the "jet meter". These pumps include a chamber, a piston movable within the chamber, a suction valve and a discharge valve. The piston, when moving in a first direction inside the chamber, generates a vacuum, opening the suction valve and filling the chamber with the liquid product; the piston, when moving in the opposite direction, generates an overpressure, opening the discharge valve and squeezing the fluid product out of the chamber, thus squeezing it out to supply the application member. The precise calibration makes it possible to control the volume of fluid product ejected in each round trip of the piston in the chamber.

The advantages of these metering units are their simplicity and control of the injection volume. However, these metering units present problems when one wishes to apply a larger volume of product to the capacity of the chamber. In this case, the metering unit must fill its chamber during application; however, in this transition phase, the metering unit is no longer supplied with fluid product, resulting in an interruption of the application of fluid product and a significant interruption of the output flow.

In order to overcome this problem, it has been proposed to install two metering units in parallel, and to adapt the law of control of these two metering units so that when the first metering unit is in the filling phase, the second metering unit compensates for the flow rate associated with the interruption of the supply of the first metering unit. Thus, the application member obtains a constant supply flow. However, the installation of the second metering unit involves a lot of additional costs, since the metering unit is indeed a very expensive system. Furthermore, it is very complicated to establish a suitable control law to make the supply flow of the application member constant.

Another known solution consists in using a double-acting pump as the feed pump, that is to say, which pumps the fluid product contained in the front half of the chamber to the rear half of the chamber at the same time as it is expelled, and vice versa. In fact, such a pump allows a quasi-continuous feeding, so that an almost constant feeding flow of the application member is achieved by controlling the rise and fall of the piston flow.

However, problems can arise during reversal of the motion of the piston. In fact, in this reversal step, the speed of the piston is cancelled out causing an interruption of the output flow, which is still present, although briefly.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention therefore aims to propose an economical and effective solution to the problem of maintaining a constant application flow rate of the product on the substrate. Other objects of the invention include proposing a compact and suitable solution for high-viscosity fluid products.

To this end, the invention relates to an application device of the aforementioned type, wherein the metering pump consists of an axial piston pump.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the application device also has one or more of the following features, either as independent features or in combination with one another as the technology allows:

-said supply device is adapted to supply said fluid product to a metering pump at a higher pressure than said fluid product leaving said metering pump;

-the supply device comprises a booster pump and a booster duct fluidly connecting an outlet of the booster pump to an inlet of the metering pump;

-the booster pump consists of a double-acting pump;

-said supply device comprises a container containing a fluid product, an inlet of said booster pump being fluidly connected to said container;

-said supply device is adapted to supply said fluid product to a metering pump at a lower pressure than said fluid product leaving said metering pump;

-the viscosity of the fluid product is between 1 and 200 kilo-centipoises, advantageously between 15 and 250 centipoises or between 3000 and 300,000 centipoises;

-the application device comprises a valve fluidically interposed between the metering pump and the application member;

-the application device comprises a motor for rotating the axial plunger pump;

-the metering pump and the application member together form a monolithic assembly.

The invention also relates to a device for applying a fluid product on a substrate, comprising an articulated arm formed by a plurality of segments articulated to one another, a wrist mounted at one end of the articulated arm, and an application apparatus as described above, the application member of which is attached to the wrist.

according to a particular embodiment of the invention, the device also has one or more of the following features, either as independent features or in combination with each other as the technology allows:

-the metering pump is mounted attached to one of the segments of the articulated arm, preferably to the segment closest to the wrist;

-the metering pump is arranged at the wrist;

-the metering pump is arranged at a distance of less than 1m, preferably less than 50cm, from the application member.

The invention also relates to a method for applying a product to a substrate, comprising the following steps:

-providing an application device as defined above, and

-supplying a fluid product to said metering pump.

Drawings

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, which is provided by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention, and;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the application device of the apparatus of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

the device 2 shown in fig. 1 is used for applying a fluid product to a substrate. The device comprises, in a known manner, a multi-axis robot 4, a control cabinet 6 controlling the robot 4 and an application device 8 for applying the fluid product to the substrate.

the multi-axis robot 4 comprises, in a known manner, an articulated arm 10 made up of a plurality of segments 12 articulated with respect to each other, and a wrist 14 mounted at one end of the articulated arm 10.

The application device 8 comprises an application member 20 and a system 22 for supplying the fluid product to the application member 20.

The application member 20 is used to shape the fluid product for application to a substrate. To this end, the application member 20 comprises an outlet hole 23 for the fluid product to exit and is located outside the application device 8. The outlet opening 23 is typically constituted by a nozzle.

the application member 20 may take different forms depending on the application. In the example shown, therefore, the application member 20 consists of an automatic spray gun, the shape of the outlet orifice 23 determining accordingly the way in which the fluid product is deposited on the substrate. The deposition pattern may be in the form of a spiral, a wide strip, a wire or a spray. In other embodiments, the application member is formed by a manual spray gun or a rotary bowl sprayer.

the application member 20 is attached to the handle 14 of the robot arm 4.

With reference to fig. 2, the supply system 22 comprises a metering pump 24 for supplying the fluid product having a predetermined flow rate to the application device 20, a supply duct 26 fluidly connecting an outlet 28 of the metering pump 24 to an inlet 30 of the application member 20, a valve 31 and a device 32 for supplying the fluid product to the metering pump 24.

According to the invention, the metering pump 24 consists of an axial piston pump. Such axial plunger pumps are generally commercially available, and are particularly compact and cost effective. Therefore, the use of such an axial piston pump as the metering pump 24 does not incur a large additional cost.

For example, an axial plunger pump consists of 5 chambers (not shown), each having a volume substantially equal to 1cm3, while the total volume of the pump is substantially equal to 5cm 3. Such a pump is very suitable for metering low flow products. In other embodiments, the volume of the axial piston pump is greater than 5cm3, in particular greater than 10cm3, for example substantially equal to 20cm3, for the metering of higher flow products. The increase in total volume is accomplished by increasing the volume of each chamber and/or increasing the number of chambers.

Advantageously, the application device 8 comprises an electric motor (not shown) for rotating the axial piston pump, the assembly of the pump 24 plus the electric motor being more compact and more efficient than if the pump 24 were driven pneumatically. In addition, the motor enables effective control of the axial plunger pump drive, and therefore better control of the output flow of the pump 24.

As shown in fig. 1, the metering pump 24 is arranged as close as possible to the application member 20, that is to say the distance of the metering pump 24 from the application member 20 is less than 1m, preferably less than 50 cm. For this purpose, the metering pump 24 is attached to one segment 12 of the articulated arm 10, in particular to the segment 12 closest in front of the wrist 14, as shown in fig. 1, or directly to the wrist 14. The compactness of the metering pump 24 partly enables it to be arranged in said position. Said position enables an excellent reactivity during the start and end of the application and/or the change of the set point.

The valve 31 is intended to selectively close and open the supply of fluid product to the outlet opening 23.

for this purpose, the valve 31 is placed on the supply pipe 26 or is integrated directly into the application member 20 so as to be interposed between the metering pump 24 and the outlet hole 23. The valve 31 is also movable between a closed position, in which the valve 31 closes the supply duct 26, preventing the supply of the fluid product to the application member 20, and an open position; when in the open position, the valve 31 releases the supply duct 26, enabling the supply of the fluid product to the application member 20.

The valve 31 is typically comprised of a sliding gate, needle or dispenser.

the supply device 32 comprises a container 34 containing a fluid product (indicated by 35 in fig. 2), and a fluid delivery system 36 for delivering the fluid product 35 contained in the container 34 to an inlet 38 of the metering pump 24.

The fluid product 35 is generally constituted by a product having a high viscosity, i.e. a viscosity greater than 3000 centipoises. Such high-viscosity products are, for example, usually putties or elastomers or epoxy glues. Advantageously, the fluid product 35 has a viscosity comprised between 3000 and 300,000 centipoises.

Fluid delivery system 36 is thus adapted to supply the fluid product to metering pump 24 at a pressure higher than a level value comprised between 1.1 and 100 times the pressure of the fluid product at the output of metering pump 24, in particular substantially equal to 1.6 times the pressure of the fluid product at the output of metering pump 24. In fact, it has been found that this pressure value is necessary to obtain a constant output flow rate when the fluid product 35 is a high viscosity fluid.

to this end, the fluid delivery system 36 comprises a booster pump 40 for pumping the fluid product 35 into the container 34, and a booster line 42 fluidly connecting an outlet 44 of the booster pump 40 to the inlet 38 of the metering pump 24.

The booster pump 40 includes an inlet 46 fluidly connected to the vessel 34.

The booster pump 40 is adapted to maintain the pressure of the fluid product in the booster duct 42 above the level value for more than 90% of the time during application of the fluid product. This ratio is calculated from the ratio of the time during which the pressure of the fluid product in the plenum 42 is maintained above the level value when the coating product is applied using the coating apparatus 8 to the total duration of the coating product being applied using the coating apparatus 8.

For this purpose, the booster pump 40 is generally constituted by a double-acting pump intended to discharge the fluid product 35 at a pressure at least equal to the level value. Thus, when the application device 8 is used to apply the fluid product, the only period in which the pressure of the fluid product 35 at the inlet of the metering pump 24 may drop below the level value is the reversal phase of the direction of movement of the piston of the pump, which takes up less than 10% of the operating time of the double-acting pump.

The booster duct 42 is adapted to withstand an internal pressure of 500 bar. Booster duct 42 generally includes: an upstream section (not shown) connected to the outlet 44 of the booster pump 40, formed by a tube having a diameter substantially equal to 1.90cm and a length of 1.5 m; a downstream section (not shown) connected to the inlet 38 of the metering pump 24, formed by a tube having a diameter substantially equal to 0.95cm and a length of 1.5 m; and an intermediate section (not shown) interposed fluidically between the upstream and downstream sections, formed by a tube having a diameter substantially equal to 1.27 centimeters and a length of 10 m.

The application device 8 also comprises a system for controlling the operation of said application device 8. The control system includes a first pressure sensor 50 for measuring the pressure within booster duct 42 and a second pressure sensor 52 for measuring the pressure within supply duct 26. The second pressure sensor 52 is arranged in particular upstream of the valve 31.

a method of applying the fluid product 35 using the device 2 will now be described.

First, in a first step, a device 2 is provided.

Next, the booster pump 40 is started. Booster pump 40 then begins pumping product 35 into vessel 34 and discharging it into booster duct 42.

The pressure at the inlet of metering pump 24 is monitored using first pressure sensor 50. Once the target pressure is reached, i.e. above the first level value (for example equal to 25 bar), the metering pump 24 is activated and the valve 31 is opened. Application of the fluent product 35 to the substrate may then begin.

The flow rate of the fluid product 35 at the outlet opening 23 remains substantially constant throughout the application of the fluid product 35, which makes it possible to obtain lines with a regular appearance in the case of deposition of the fluid product in a linear form, in particular without the reversal phase of the double-acting pump 40 being visible on the obtained lines.

Optionally, adjusting the rotational speed of the axial plunger pump 24 during application enables adjustment of the flow rate at the outlet orifice 23.

When it is desired to replace the substrate on which the product 35 has been applied, the valve 31 is closed. Thus, the supply of the application member 20 is interrupted, thus making it possible to remove the substrate already coated with the product 35 and to place a new blank substrate without wasting the fluid product. Next, valve 31 is reopened to allow the fluid product to be applied to a new substrate.

When the container 34 is empty, it is replaced with a new full container 34.

Thus, the method has been applied to different booster pressures and different rotational speeds of the axial plunger pump 24, and the results are shown below:

	Test 1	test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5	Test 6	Test 7	test 8	Test 9
										Pinlet(b)	25.00	25.00	25.00	25.00	50.00	50.00	50.00	50.00	70.00
Vpump(tr/s)	0.21	0.42	0.83	1.67	0.21	0.42	0.83	1.67	4.16
										Poutlet(b)	6.25	7.75	10.50	15.75	7.75	8.50	11.25	16.25	25.00
Flow (cc/s)	1.02	2.04	4.08	8.16	1.02	2.04	4.08	8.16	20.5

Pinlet is defined as the pressure measured at the inlet of the metering pump 24 by the first pressure sensor 50, Vpump is defined as the rotational speed of the metering pump 24, Poutlet is defined as the pressure in the supply line 26 measured by the second pressure sensor 52, and flow is defined as the flow of fluid product at the outlet orifice 23.

It can be seen that the outlet flow is an affine function of the rotational speed of the metering pump 24 and is independent of the pressure upstream of the metering pump 24, thus making it particularly easy to regulate the outlet flow.

Furthermore, the regulation of the booster pressure makes it possible to regulate the pressure in the supply pipe 26 at a constant outlet flow. The supply pressure of the application member 20 can thus be adjusted according to the intended use, which is of particular interest when applying the fluid product in the form of a spray.

The invention thus enables the application of fluid products to a substrate at low cost, while controlling the flow rate of the application for a long time without interruption and with minimal pressure variations.

Furthermore, the application flow rate is easy to adjust and the supply pressure of the application member is easy to adjust at a constant flow rate.

In the above example, the application device 8 is suitable for applying one fluid product at a time. In other embodiments (not shown), the application device 8 is adapted to apply several fluid products at a time. In this case, the application device 8 comprises, in addition to the supply system 22, at least one other supply system, one for each fluid product, in addition to the fluid product 35, to supply each fluid product to the application member 20. Advantageously, at least one of these further supply systems comprises a metering pump, for example the metering pump 24 described above, respectively.

furthermore, in the above example, the fluid product 35 used is a high-viscosity product. In other embodiments (not shown), the fluid product 35 is composed of a product having a low viscosity, typically a paint having a viscosity generally between 15 and 250 centipoise. Fluid delivery system 36 is accordingly adapted to supply fluid product to metering pump 24 at a pressure of one tenth to nine tenths of that of fluid product 35 at the outlet of metering pump 24.

In the above example, the metering pump 24 and the supply member 20 are described as mutually independent shaped elements connected to each other by the supply pipe 26. In other embodiments (not shown), the metering pump 24 and the application member 20 are formed together as a monolithic assembly, the metering pump 24 and the application member 20 being fixed to each other, and no supply tube being interposed between the metering pump 24 and the application member 20.