Claims
- 1. A method of cleaning the paint supply line of a paint color change system which includes a paint atomizer being fed with paint by said supply line and a first source of paint of a first color and a second source of paint of a second color adapted to be selectively connected to said supply line, said method comprising the steps of connecting said supply line to said first source of paint to fill said supply line with the first color paint to allow said atomizer to paint an article, disconnecting said supply line from said first source of paint when the remaining paint in the supply line is sufficient to complete the painting of the article, feeding said remaining paint in the supply line to said atomizer until the supply line is essentially empty after which the atomizer is bypassed and the supply line is connected to an exhaust line, connecting said supply line to a source of pressurized air and a metered flow of solvent at a point upstream of said first source so as to cause said pressurized air to atomize said solvent, propelling said atomized solvent through said supply line by said high pressure air at a velocity sufficient to clean the walls of the inner passage in the supply line, and disconnecting said supply line from said solvent and said source of high pressure air and said exhaust line and connecting said supply line to said second source of paint so as to fill said supply line with the second color paint to allow said atomizer to again paint an article.
- 2. A method of changing paint colors using a paint system having an applicator means connected by a single supply line to at least two sources of paint of different colors, a source of cleaning fluid, a source of low pressure air, and a source of high pressure air, said method comprising the steps of connecting said supply line to one of said sources of two paints, applying said one of said two paints in an atomized state on an article using said applicator means, disconnecting said one of said two sources of paints from said supply line and connecting said supply line to said source of low pressure air to cause the paint remaining in the supply line to be fed to the applicator to complete the painting of the article, closing the connection between the applicator and the supply line and connecting the latter to an exhaust line, connecting said supply line to said source of high pressure air and simultaneously providing a metered flow of solvent from said source of solvent through an opening into said supply line so as to cause said high pressure air to flow past said orifice and create a venturi effect so as to atomize said solvent and propel said atomized solvent at a high velocity through said supply line to remove the residual paint coating on the inner walls of said supply line and deposit the removed paint into a sump, and connecting the other source of said two sources of paint to said supply line to permit said applicator means to paint another article.
- 3. A method of cleaning residue material coating the interior walls of a conduit, said method comprising the steps of connecting one end of said conduit to a source of pressurized gas so as to generate a high velocity flow of said gas through said conduit, simultaneously presenting a metered flow of solvent to said high velocity gas flow so as to cause said solvent to be atomized and propelled by said gas flow at a high velocity against said residue material on said interior walls to scrub and remove said residue material from said interior walls, and depositing the removed residue material into a sump by virtue of said high velocity flow of said gas.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of Ser. No. 904,167, filed on Sept. 5, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,563.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
904167 |
Sep 1986 |
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