The disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for spraying or otherwise applying coating material onto a surface, such as, for example, the interior surfaces of a rotating can. More particularly, the disclosure relates to monitoring and control functions useful for coating operations.
Spraying a coating material onto the surface of a body is commonly done. For example, interior surfaces of metal beverage cans are coated to preserve the flavor of the contents from being changed due to contact with a metal surface. A variety of spray systems have been developed over the years. In the can industry, can interiors are sprayed using one or more spray applicator devices or spray guns having one or more nozzles positioned near the can interior. Material is sprayed onto the can surfaces typically while the can is rotated. Can surfaces may include interior and exterior surfaces.
In many applications it is important to assure that the entire surface is coated. The amount of material that is applied to a surface is usually measured in terms of coating weight. In an ongoing effort to reduce costs, coating weights have also been reduced. However, lower coating weights necessitate tighter control over the coating process. There are many process variables that affect coating weight, including temperature, pressure, viscosity, spray duration, nozzle flow rate and pattern control, and spray applicator position. In typical known rotating coating application systems, each deposition of material onto the circumferential surface of the container body is called a wrap. In a known can coating system, a can may be coated with a single wrap or two or more wraps including fractional or partial wraps.
The amount of material that is applied to a rotating surface is a function of the above noted process variables, the number of wraps, and also the rotation speed of the surface. If the rotation speed were always a known constant, then the amount of material applied to the surface could be better controlled within the ability of the manufacturer to control the other process variables. As such, the other process variables noted above have a significant impact on the coating weight and completeness of each wrap. For example, the actual spray duration can have a major impact on the amount of coating material applied to the rotating surface as a function of the speed of rotation. Spray duration refers to the time duration that coating material impinges the surface being sprayed. Spray duration is thus affected by flow characteristics of material through the spray application device, material transport times and spray device turn on and turn off time delays. The turn on time delay refers to the time delay between the command to turn the spray application device on via a first trigger signal to the spray application device and the actual time that material begins to impinge the surface. Turn off delay refers to the time delay between the command to turn the spray application device off via a second trigger signal to the spray application device and the actual time that material stops impinging on the surface. If the rotation speed is not constant, the spray duration time greatly impacts the completeness of the wraps and the distribution of coating weight applied during each wrap.
In can coating operations, it is common to support a can on a spray machine when coating the interior of the can. The spray machine supports a number of cans and sequentially indexes them past one or two spray guns that coat the cans. The can is normally supported on a mandrel by the force of a vacuum. Thus the mandrel is referred to as a vacuum chuck. The vacuum chuck rotates the can at a desired speed during the time that the can is stopped in front of the spray gun. Normally, the can is completely coated after being rotated two or three revolutions while being sprayed with coating material. Each complete revolution is called a “wrap”.
An existing system for monitoring and controlling the coating of the can on a spray machine is the Nordson iTrax® System. This system is available for purchase from Nordson Corporation, Amherst, Ohio and is described, at least in part, in International Publication Number WO 2005/016552 A2, published Feb. 24, 2005 that is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Even though a can is set to rotate at a desired speed on a spray machine as described above, the can may not be spinning properly. If the can is not rotated properly during the spraying operation, it may not be properly coated. It is also possible that even though the can is properly rotated, it is not properly sprayed. Improperly coated cans must be detected before they are filled with a food or beverage and sold to a consumer.
The present disclosure includes in a first inventive aspect a control function for a can coating machine, in which the control function operates to inhibit or enable a coating operation under predetermined circumstances or conditions. In one embodiment, the control function may be realized in the form of a control signal that in one state indicates a ‘good-to-go’ or ‘ready-to-spray’ condition, and in another state indicates a fault condition, based on a predetermined set of monitored conditions. In a more specific exemplary embodiment, the control signal state may be used before a coating operation begins. In another exemplary embodiment, the predetermined set of conditions are selected from the following: can in position, gun in position, safety device in position, acceptable speed of rotation, acceptable vacuum holding a can in position. The control signal may be used, for example, to prevent a coating operation when one or more fault conditions are present.
In accordance with another inventive aspect of the disclosure, pressure regulation of the coating material may be performed by monitoring and regulating pressure of the coating material proximate to or in a spray gun, and optionally monitoring and controlling temperature of the material proximate to or in the spray gun. In one embodiment, a pressure sensor and optionally a temperature sensor are disposed in a sensor head or other available supply connection attached to a spray gun. In another exemplary embodiment, a pressure regulation system is provided locally near the spray gun.
In accordance with another inventive aspect of the disclosure, use of pressure regulation by monitoring coating material pressure proximate to or in the spray gun, and optionally temperature of coating material proximate or in the spray gun, allows a control system to control coating weight by adjusting base pressure of the coating material at the spray gun as a function of a determined wrap number. In one embodiment, if a wrap number is low then the base pressure may be increased, and if a wrap number is high the base pressure may be decreased. In a specific exemplary embodiment, a wrap number may be determined from speed of rotation and spray duration.
In accordance with another inventive aspect of the disclosure, a remote display feature may be provided near or proximate a spray machine so that an operator may observe system performance at the machine rather than from a more distant location beyond the operator's line of sight.
In accordance with another inventive aspect of the disclosure, a second control system may be added on to an existing control system for effecting one or more of the above features or additional others, including but not limited to the inhibit/enable control function, pressure regulation at the spray gun, pressure adjustment based on wrap number, and the remote monitor. In one embodiment, the second control system may be a module that interfaces with the primary control system over a network, but with a intermediate buffer to isolate the networks. This aspect of the disclosure may be useful, for example, in system upgrade and retrofit situations of a prior existing system.
In accordance with another inventive aspect of the disclosure, a sensor may be provided to produce a signal that is related to or corresponds to rotation speed of the work piece or a work piece holder. This speed signal may relate to actual speed or a speed threshold indicator, for example. The speed signal in a more specific embodiment may be used as one of the monitored conditions for the “good-to-go” control signal. A circuit may be used that provides a speed error signal when the detected speed is outside a predetermined range.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a third control system may be provided that operates as a gun control circuit. In a specific embodiment, a gun control circuit adjusts the spray gun drive signal in order to control the actual spray duration. In a more specific embodiment, a pressure sensor at or near the spray gun may be used to detect transitions between base and fire pressures to indicate actual spray duration. In another embodiment, a gun control circuit may be used to select and produce an appropriate gun drive signal based on the type of spray gun in use. In still a further alternative embodiment, multiple gun control circuits may be daisy chained together to simplify and expedite field wiring. In still another embodiment, the gun control circuits may communicate with other control circuits or modules (or both) over a network. In still a further alternative embodiment, a gun control circuit may issue a warning or inhibit signal if an operator attempts to program a spray gun outside of its capabilities. For example, attempting to make a spray gun fire faster than it is designed to do and still achieve proper coating.
In accordance with another inventive aspect of the disclosure, a modular control system for a work piece coating system is contemplated. The modular concept utilizes two or more functional modules that may communicate with each other over a network, as well as with an operator interface device such as a computer. Each module includes control and/or monitoring functionality and associated circuits. The modular design allows for selective configuration of a coating system by including modules as needed for specific functions. The networked modular design also allows for simple extension of the system for additional spray guns and spray machines. In an exemplary embodiment, modules may be provided for gun control, pressure control, temperature control, remote displays and multifunction “good-to-go” control signal generation.
The present disclosure also contemplates, as another inventive aspect, the various control systems, functions and operations, either alone or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof, used with a coating application system.
Also disclosed herein are various inventive methods including but not limited to method for pressure regulation of the coating material pressure in a spray gun or other application device, a method for spray duration control, and method for adjusting pressure as a function of a wrap number determination.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated and understood from the following detailed description of the invention in view of the accompanying drawings.
The present disclosure is directed to apparatus and methods for application of material onto a work piece surface, such as, for example, the rotating surfaces of a can. In an exemplary embodiment, the inventions are illustrated herein for use with a spray coating process and apparatus for spraying a coating material, such as for example water and/or solvent borne coating material, to the interior surface of a rotating can body. For example, coating material may be applied to the interior surface of a two piece or three piece can body or outside dome spray.
While the inventions are described and illustrated herein with particular reference to various specific forms and functions of the apparatus and methods thereof, it is to be understood that such illustrations and explanations are intended to be exemplary in nature and should not be construed in a limiting sense. For example, the inventions may be utilized in any material application system involving the application of material to a rotating surface, and some inventions may find useful application to other coating application systems in which the coated surface is not rotating. The surface need not be a can surface, and need not be an interior surface, but may include exterior surfaces, generally planar, curvilinear and other surface geometries, end surfaces, and so on. The application system illustrated herein is a spray coating application system, however the word “spray” is not intended to be limiting. The inventions may be similarly applied to other coating or material application techniques such as, for example, deposition, coating, brushing and other contact and non-contact application systems, as well as for liquid and non-liquid coating materials. The surface being coated may be rotated by a number of different techniques and apparatus and the various inventions are not necessarily limited to any particular rotation technology. Although the exemplary embodiments illustrate a modular type distributed control system, it will be readily appreciated that many of the inventive aspects described herein may be implemented in a system that is neither modular nor networked.
While various inventive aspects, concepts and features of the inventions may be described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects, concepts and features may be used in many alternative embodiments, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. Unless expressly excluded herein all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present inventions. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects, concepts and features of the inventions—such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, circuits, devices and components, software, hardware, control logic, alternatives as to form, fit and function, and so on—may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adopt one or more of the inventive aspects, concepts or features into additional embodiments and uses within the scope of the present inventions even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the inventions may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present disclosure, however, such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated. Moreover, while various aspects, features and concepts may be expressly identified herein as being inventive or forming part of an invention, such identification is not intended to be exclusive, but rather there may be inventive aspects, concepts and features that are fully described herein without being expressly identified as such or as part of a specific invention, the inventions instead being set forth in the appended claims. Descriptions of exemplary methods or processes are not limited to inclusion of all steps as being required in all cases, nor is the order that the steps are presented to be construed as required or necessary unless expressly so stated.
With reference to
The coating machine such as spray machine S further includes at least one material application mechanism or coating device 4 that sprays or otherwise deposits or applies a coating material M (
The application mechanism or spray gun 4 may be supported on any suitable structure, including a robotic arm, for example, so that the spray gun position may be manually or automatically controlled as the case may be. The spray gun 4 operates in response to a number of control signals and functions, including an on/off control or trigger function T (
Each spray line may include one or more spray machines S. Each spray machine S typically includes a spray machine control system E. The spray machine control system E typically is realized in the form of a PLC or other suitable programmable control circuit. The control system E controls a spray time window F (also see signal 270,
In the exemplary embodiments, each spray machine S includes two spray guns 4 and two drive systems D. Note that
With reference to
In addition, the rotating chuck 2 may be provided with metal or other suitable speed targets 10 that rotate past an optional speed sensor 11 that monitors or detects the speed of the rotating chuck to ensure that the chuck 2 and the can 3 are rotating at a proper coating speed. Many alternative arrangements and techniques may be used for the speed sensor, including optical sensors, magnetic sensors and so on. The speed sensor 11 output thus may be a signal that varies with the speed of the chuck, or may include circuitry that outputs a signal indicating whether the detected speed is within an acceptable range, or any other suitable speed indicating signal as the case may be for a particular control system design. The speed detection may be performed while a can is present in the spray pocket, or when outside the spray pocket.
A can-in-position or can-in-pocket (CIP) sensor 12 monitors the presence of a can in the spray position and an optional gun-in-position sensor 13 ensures that a spray gun is in the proper position for spraying the can during a coating operation. For example, for a manually operated gun positioning arrangement, after the spray gun is properly positioned on a suitable support structure, a proximity sensor 13 or other suitable detector may be positioned so as to detect the properly positioned gun. Thereafter, if the gun position changes, the sensor 13 output will change to indicate the gun is no longer in its correct position for a coating operation. As another alternative, if an automatic gun positioning arrangement is used—such as a robotic arm for example—the associated motor or motor control may output a signal when the gun is properly positioned, or a proximity sensor may still be used. An optional safety guard sensor 14 ensures that the safety cage G has been positioned and/or locked around the spray machine before it begins to rotate to protect any operator in the area.
In all cases of the monitored conditions, many different techniques and arrangements—far too many to list—may be used to generate signals for the can-in-pocket, gun-in-position, vacuum acceptable, speed related signal and guard-in-position conditions.
Although the exemplary embodiments herein illustrate a vacuum chuck, there are many other known ways to secure the cans to the drive mechanism D or star wheel 1, including clamps, electromagnetic devices and so on. The inventive concepts herein are not necessarily limited to the use of a vacuum chuck, but rather a more general concept of monitoring or detecting that a can to be sprayed is being adequately held in place, however that determination may be made. Furthermore, the concept below of a coating operation control signal may be implemented based on monitored conditions that do not include a vacuum chuck or the holding force of the can on the star wheel.
Although the gun in position sensor, the speed sensor and the guard in position sensor are noted as being optional, in some applications the CIP sensor and the vacuum sensor may also be optional. In other words, one of the inventive aspects of the disclosure is to provide a control signal for a coating operation that is used to indicate that the system is ready to spray (“RTS”), or in other words a ‘good-to-go’ (“GTG”) coating operation control signal 22. The good-to-go or ready-to-spray coating operation control signal thus functions as a go/no-go indicator to an operator and/or a control circuit that various selected conditions are okay to allow a coating operation to begin. The selected conditions may be chosen based on overall requirements for a particular application, and in general will typically relate to those conditions that if not acceptable should inhibit a coating operation or at least result in a warning indication of some suitable format. In the exemplary embodiment, the CIP condition and the adequate vacuum condition are the chosen minimum conditions that must be acceptable since these conditions can significantly affect the quality of the applied coating material. However, in many situations the speed condition, guard position and gun position may also be deemed important enough to form part or all of the criteria for the go/no-go control signal. In other applications, the CIP and/or vacuum conditions may be deemed optional. Thus, the developed control signal 22 may be based on these exemplary conditions, a subset thereof, or additional and different monitored conditions as a matter of design choice.
The characterization of the control signal 22 as being a go/no-go type signal is merely one exemplary embodiment in which the control signal 22 may be used to enable or inhibit a coating operation. In other embodiments, the control signal 22 may simply issue a warning signal of some suitable format (such as a warning light, buzzer, screen icon and so on) that indicates to the operator that there is a fault condition in one or more of the selected conditions being monitored to generate the control signal 22. The control signal 22 therefore is more generally to be understood as developed from a multifunction set of input conditions and an output state that indicates whether there is a fault or other abnormality condition in one of more of the input conditions. The control signal 22 may be used to automatically inhibit a coating operation on a can by can basis, to inhibit a coating operation if the fault condition persists past a pre-selected number of coating operations, or may provide an indication or warning to the operator, allowing for the operator to decide whether to inhibit or continue with a coating operation.
The speed sensor 11 produces an output signal 11a that may be a signal that simply indicates whether a minimum acceptable speed is detected, or may be an actual speed based signal that is then interpreted by other circuits in the system to determine if the speed is within an acceptable range for a coating operation. The vacuum sensor 9 produces an output signal 9a that may be a signal that simply indicates whether a minimum acceptable vacuum is detected, or may be the actual vacuum based signal that is then interpreted by other circuits in the system to determine if the vacuum is within an acceptable range for a coating operation. The CIP sensor 12 generates a signal 12a that indicates whether a can is in position for a coating operation. The gun in position sensor 13 produces a signal 13a that indicates whether the spray gun 4 is in position for a coating operation, and the guard position sensor 14 produces a signal 14a that indicates whether the safety device 14 such as a protective cage is in position for a coating operation
The signals from these five sensors 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14 (or more or less as the case may be based on system design) are input into a multifunction spray machine monitor circuit 15. The multifunction machine monitor circuit 15 may execute a wide variety of monitor and control functions for the system S, or in a simplified embodiment may receive the monitored condition signals, such as from the five sensors described herein for example, and produce the control signal 22 output to a control circuit such as, for example, a spray monitor circuit module 18. In accordance with an inventive aspect of the present disclosure, the multifunction machine monitor circuit 15 may execute, monitor and control one or more functions associated with the system S locally, rather than having those functions controlled from a remote or distant location such as over a network.
For example, in one embodiment the monitor circuit 15 may be used to locally regulate the base pressure of the coating material for the spray gun 4 as a function of a commanded base pressure that is part of a coating operation recipe. Alternatively, the monitor circuit 15 may be used to regulate back pressure at the source 20 pump regulator, for example. In another embodiment, the monitor circuit 15 may locally regulate temperature of the coating material for the spray gun 4 based on a commanded temperature that may be part of a coating operation recipe. Still further, the monitor circuit 15 may monitor the conditions from the condition sensors and generate the go/no-go control signal 22. Alternatively though, the control signal 22 may be generated in any circuit within the over system S. Other local control functions may be executed as needed for particular systems S. For example, as described further herein below, a remote display (
Although it is noted that a single circuit arrangement may be used to implement the various local control and monitoring functions herein, this is not intended to imply that a single circuit must be used. Separate circuits and controllers may be used as required for the various functions of the monitor circuit 15 or various functions may be combined into a single controller. For example, the control signal 22 in one embodiment may be realized in the form of a simple AND logic function that can be realized in any circuit located anywhere convenient, or as part of a more complex control circuit 15 or 18. The control signal 22 may alternatively be developed as a software signal for example. Thus, for the various control and monitor functions herein, the actual implementation and form of the circuits, signals and controls may be software, hardware, a combination thereof, or otherwise largely a matter of design choice based on the overall design criteria of the system. Therefore the words ‘circuit’, ‘system’, ‘signal’ and ‘control’ should be very broadly interpreted to include any form of realization of these features including software, hardware or a combination thereof as the case may be. In one embodiment, the spray monitor circuit 18 may be, for example, an iTrax™ system noted herein above, with the monitor circuit 15 being an add-on feature or module to such a system.
If the appropriate inputs are received from all five sensors indicating that the system is ready to spray (in other words, none of the input signals being monitored indicates a fault condition), then the monitor circuit 15 outputs the control signal 22 in a first state indicating that the machine is ready to spray (a GTG or RTS signal). This state of the control signal may thus be used as an enable signal to permit a coating operation to proceed. If one or more sensors do not provide an appropriate signal to the monitor circuit 15 (in other words, at least one or more of the signals being monitored indicates a fault condition), then the control signal 22 will be output from the monitor circuit 15 in a second state indicating the machine is not ready to spray. This state of the control signal may thus be used as an inhibit or disable signal to prevent a coating operation from proceeding. Alternatively, the second state may be used as a warning or to generate an appropriate warning to the operator that a fault condition has been detected, whether or not the control signal second state is used as an automatic coating operation inhibit function.
Accordingly, one of the inventive teachings of the present disclosure, is that a customer can select that a can will not be sprayed with coating unless the can is securely held to the chuck, is rotating at the proper speed and is in the right position for a coating operation, and unless the spray gun is in the right position as well with the safety cage secured around the machine. These sensors, or any subset thereof, or other sensors as needed, help to ensure that certain of the problems that can cause cans to be improperly sprayed are detected before the cans are sprayed with coating material. Thus, these sensors, alone or in combination with the multifunction spray machine monitor 15 improve the control capabilities of the spray monitor system 18 such as an iTrax™ system.
With reference to
With reference to
The basic system of
In
Also communicating with the network 112 are one or more modules 202. Each module 202 may receive all or a portion of a particular recipe that will be executed by the associated spray machine. In the
It is important to recognize that
Recipes or portions thereof may be downloaded or transferred from the PC 108 to each module 202 as need be. In the example of a system enhancement, the PC 108, converter 110, CAN network 112 and one or more spray monitors 18 may be part of a pre-installed iTrax™ system. Alternatively, these portions may be provided as part of a new installation.
The spray monitor circuit 18 may include spray machine power control relay contacts 206 that open when the spray monitor circuits 18 determines that the spray machine should be shut down. For example, the spray monitor circuit 18 receives the control signal 22 (GTG or RTS) from the multifunction spray machine monitor circuit 15. If the control signal 22 indicates the spray machine is not ready, the spray monitor circuit 18 may hold the contacts 206 open until the fault conditions are fixed. Operator overrides may also be provided if so required. The spray monitor circuit 18 also receives a pressure signal 46 from a pressure regulation and controller circuit 42 (
The gun control circuit module 204 may be used to generate appropriate gun drive signals 212 as well as to adjust the trigger and drive signals to achieve the commanded spray duration based on the real time feedback signal 208. The gun control circuit may also be used to operate a clean spray gun operation.
In addition to the control signal 22, the multifunction spray machine monitor circuit module 15 may be used to carry out pressure regulation and temperature control as will be described below.
Still another module 202 may be a remote display 70 (
The computer 108 may also be used for data logging information placed on the bus 112 by any of the modules 202. As done, for example, with the iTrax™ system, the computer 108 may also be used for module configuration and system calibration processes as required.
In order to achieve good can coating, it is also necessary that the coating material be properly supplied or delivered to the spray gun 4. Two of the primary factors in the nature of the coating material for good coating operations are the pressure and temperature of the coating material. We have found that good coating consistency and repeatability are achieved by monitoring and regulating pressure of the coating material proximate the spray gun, with optionally also including control of the temperature of the material. The local pressure control is realized by monitoring the pressure of the coating material in or proximate the spray gun, rather than at a more distant location in the fluid circuit. The exemplary embodiment of the monitor circuit 15 in relative close proximity to the spray machine is useful for also implementing a locally controlled pressure and temperature profile of the coating material, although the pressure and optional temperature monitoring and regulation may alternatively be performed by a separate or different control system.
The control schematic of
The output signal 46 from pressure sensor 2 (actual gun pressure) may be input to the spray monitor circuit 18 and used to determine the regulated base and/or fire pressure signal 47. The spray monitor circuit 18 outputs the sensed pressure value 47 and also a commanded pressure value 48 to the multifunction spray machine monitor circuit 15. In the exemplary embodiment, this communication is performed over a network such as, for example, the CAN network 112 or other suitable network or communication system. The monitor circuit 15 receives the commanded pressure value and sensed pressure value and through a conventional sample, gain and offset circuit 50 (or other suitable error detection algorithm and circuit) determines an error value or regulation signal 52 when the measured pressure in the spray gun differs from the commanded pressure. This regulation signal 52 is input to the pressure control circuit 42 where it is combined with the first pressure sensor output signal 43 so as to adjust the regulator 34 output pressure to the gun until the pressure in the gun (as sensed by the second transducer 44) is the same as the commanded pressure. In the exemplary embodiment of
While the local pressure regulation provides for more accurate and responsive pressure regulation in the spray gun, the exemplary embodiment also allows other optional advantages to be realized. By using the spray monitor circuit 18 to issue the commanded pressure as part of a supervisory control loop, internal security functions within the overall control system (such as an ITrax system for example) better ensures that only authorized pressure changes are made. The system however may be provided with an electronic override knob adjustment when necessary since the spray monitor circuit 18 will typically include a visual display for the operator. Communication between the local pressure regulation function 42 and the spray monitor circuit 18 and the PC 108 over a network (116 in
With reference to
The ability to command and locally regulate the coating material pressure in the spray gun, also permits a supervisory range control function or process to be executed for improving wrap coating quality. An exemplary process includes the spray monitor circuit 18 determining a wrap number that is based on the rotation speed of the workpiece and the actual spray time duration X. The faster the speed, the higher the number of wraps for a given spray duration (spray duration being indicated by the known actual gun on and off times). The slower the rotation speed the lower the number of wraps for a given spray time duration. Typically, the spray monitor 18 will have a range for an acceptable wrap number for the various recipes. If the system determines that the wrap number is low, the system may command an increase in the base pressure at the gun (locally regulated as described herein above with respect to
While the pressure regulation function is preferably done locally so as to provide faster real time closed loop control of the material pressure at the spray gun 4, temperature of the coating material typically changes at a slower rate than pressure. Therefore, the closed loop temperature control function may if desired be executed in the spray monitor circuit 18 rather than having a local control loop in the spray machine monitor control circuit 15, although the latter may be done as an alternative. For existing systems this allows the temperature control loop function to remain in place, but adding in the feature of monitoring the actual coating material pressure at the gun. In such an embodiment, the command and control signals for controlling the heater/chiller unit 68 may communicate over the network since closed loop response time is slow compared to local pressure regulation.
A toggle switch 78 may be provided, for example, to switch between spray machines. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, two spray stations (e.g. two star wheels and two spray guns) may be monitored using a common monitor circuit 15 (see
As an alternative embodiment, the remote monitor 70 need not be a dedicated monitor hardwired into the local electronics of the monitor control circuit 15. For example, the remote monitor may be part of a laptop computer or other portable device that has a monitor and that has a wireless connection to the monitor circuit 15, such as, for example, a WiFi or Bluetooth™ connection.
As also illustrated in
In the exemplary case of
The monitor circuit 15 thus provides monitoring of selectable conditions to generate a coating operation control signal. The proximate location of the monitor circuit 15 to the machine stations also facilitates local pressure and temperature control and regulation of the coating material for the spray guns.
With reference to
The feedback signal 46 is ideally represented in
The spray monitor circuit 18 generates a real time gun trigger signal 210 that corresponds to the actual spray duration of the spray gun for the last completed firing. The spray monitor circuit 18 may also receive a trigger monitor signal 208 from the gun control circuit 204. This trigger monitor signal 208 corresponds to the trigger or drive signal that the gun control circuit 204 uses to actually drive the spray gun on and off. Thus, the spray monitor 18 may compare or analyze the commanded trigger times with the measured actual spray duration time to verify the gun drive circuit and spray gun are operating properly.
The gun control circuit 204 receives the real time spray duration feedback signal 210 and can adjust the gun drive signal 212 timing as appropriate for the next gun spray cycle so as to produce the desired actual spray duration. This closed loop control 308 based on real time spray duration feedback improves accuracy of the wrap number count and accuracy of the coating weight, particularly in combination with the optional expert system pressure adjustment described hereinabove.
The gun control circuit 204 may receive different gun drive signal profiles 205, such as for example during recipe download and configuration from the operator interface computer 108 over the network 112. The gun control circuit 204 can thus pattern the gun drive signal 212 for the specific type or model spray gun it is controlling.
Note in
Some spray guns 4 include cleaning mechanisms 300 (
The gun control circuit may also be configured to prevent an operator from attempting to program spray gun operation that is outside the capabilities of the gun. For example, if an operator tries to fire a gun more quickly than it can function and still apply a good coating, the gun control circuit may interrupt the spray machine or lock out the requested change.
All of the control functions, monitoring functions and operation of the various modules described herein may be realized using well known hardware and software design criteria, or others later developed.
With reference to
The inventions have been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/297,677, filed Oct. 20, 2008, for CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CAN COATING, which is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. §371 and claims priority to International Application No. PCT/US07/09725, with an International Filing Date of Apr. 23, 2007, for CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CAN COATING, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/746,790 filed on May 9, 2006 for IMPROVED CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CAN COATING, the entire disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
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20140087061 A1 | Mar 2014 | US |
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60746790 | May 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12297677 | US | |
Child | 14052928 | US |