Spray coating system and method
AssigneeHartman-Walsh Corporation
InventorsTodd Oetting, Steven D. Chism, Jess Chism, Josh Lahr, Andrew Jenkins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spray coating system includes a spraying robot sized to fit within a conduit. The spraying robot includes arms that extend outward and retract inward to maintain contact with an interior surface of the conduit. The spraying robot is configured to be coupled with hoses that separately supply different fluids to the spraying robot. The spraying robot includes a spray head from which a compound formed from the fluids is sprayed onto the interior surface of the conduit. The spraying robot is configured to be pulled through the conduit and/or self-propel in the conduit to spray the compound onto the interior surface of the conduit and form a coating thereon.
Claims18
A spray coating system comprising:
- a spraying robot sized to fit within a conduit, the spraying robot including arms that radially extend outward and radially retract inward to maintain contact with an interior surface of the conduit, the arms having force sensors that measure forces exerted by the arms on the interior surface of the conduit, the spraying robot configured to be coupled with hoses that separately supply different fluids to the spraying robot, the spraying robot including a spray head from which a compound formed from the fluids is sprayed onto the interior surface of the conduit, the spraying robot configured to one or more of be pulled through the conduit or self-propel in the conduit to spray the compound onto the interior surface of the conduit and form a coating thereon;
- one or more rolling trucks or sleds that lift and maintain all of the hoses inside the conduit above the interior surface of the conduit;
- and
- a control system controlling movement of the arms toward and away from the interior surface of the conduit, the control system automatically and individually changing extension and retraction of each of the arms based on the forces measured by the force sensors for maintaining the spray head in a center of the conduit.
A spray coating system comprising:
- a spraying robot sized to fit within a conduit, the spraying robot including arms that are pneumatically controlled to radially extend outward and radially retract inward to maintain contact with an interior surface of the conduit as the spraying robot moves through the conduit, the spraying robot configured to be coupled with hoses that separately supply different fluids to the spraying robot, the spraying robot including a spray head on a trailing end of the spraying robot from which a compound formed from the fluids is sprayed onto the interior surface of the conduit, one or more of the arms including a wheel or tread that is rotated to propel the spraying robot through the conduit to spray the compound onto the interior surface of the conduit and form a coating thereon, the arms having force sensors that measure forces exerted by the arms on the interior surface of the conduit, a control system configured to individually and separately extend the arms outward and retract the arms inward based on the forces that are measured, and to keep the spray head of the spraying robot in a center of the conduit as the spraying robot moves through one or more of a bend in the conduit or a change in inner diameter of the conduit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.