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US 4,639,156 AGranted
Painting apparatus and method
OwnerDonald J. Stern, Jon I. Allsopinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A painting system having a supply section, a delivery and control section, and an applicator section. The supply section comprises a peristaltic type pump. The delivery and control section comprises a unitary tube having a delivery passageway and an air pressurizing passageway. A pressurizing control switch at the location of the applicator acts through the air passageway to control operation of the pump. The applicator section has a housing which provides a uniform pattern of distribution passageways for uniform application of paint.
Claims48
A painting system, comprising:
- a. a supply section comprising a pump adapted to pump liquid paint from a paint source;
- b. an applicator section comprising an applicator to dispense the paint from the applicator;
- c. a delivery and control section comprising:
- 1. a delivery tube having a receiving end to receive the paint from the pump, a delivery passageway to carry the paint, and a discharge end to deliver paint to the applicator;
- 2. an actuating tube having an interior passageway distinct from said delivery passageway to contain air, said tube having a first end proximate to the supply section and a second end proximate to the applicator section;
- 3. a pressure responsive pump switch operatively connected to the actuating tube and to the pump to cause the pump to operate, said switch having an on position and an off position, said switch defining an air pressure chamber which, when pressurized to a first higher pressure level, holds said switch in said on-position, and when at a second lower pressure level, enables said switch to move to said off-position;
- 4. a pressurizing switch proximate to the applicator section and operatively connected to the second end of the actuating tube, said pressurizing switch having a release position where air pressure in the actuating tube is decreased to said lower pressure level to move the pump switch to its off position to inactivate the pump and interrupt delivery of paint, and a pressurizing position to raise pressure in said air pressure chamber so as to move the pump switch to its on position to activate the pump and to maintain said pressure at said higher pressure level so as to hold said pump switch in said on-position to cause delivery of the paint, said pressurizing switch comprising a switch housing, compressible tube means mounted in said switch housing and having a lengthwise axis, a first end, opening to ambient atmosphere, and a second end, opening to the second end of the actuating tube, and a manually operable pressure control member movable along said lengthwise axis on an actuating path from said release position where said control member is proximate said first end, to said pressurizing position where said control member is proximate said second end of the tube means, said control member being mounted to said switch housing in a manner that when said control member moves from said release position, said control member squeezes said tube means at a location proximate the first end of the tube means at an intermediate squeeze-off position to close said tube means to ambient atmosphere, and as said control member moves from said intermediate squeeze-off position to said pressurizing position, said control member squeezes said tube means along said lengthwise axis to pressurize the air pressure chamber of the pump switch to said higher level.
4 more elements
An apparatus to supply pain for a powered painting system, said apparatus comprising:
- a. a horizontally extending first housing section providing a horizontal platform to support a paint container at a paint containing area;
- b. a vertically aligned second housing section connected to said first housing section and extending upwardly therefrom, said second housing section being spaced laterally from the containing area;
- c. a pump motor having a vertical axis of rotation and being positioned in said second housing section, said pump motor having an output shaft extending downwardly from the motor and rotatable about said axis of rotation;
- d. drive gear means operatively connected to the output shaft of the pump motor and comprising a center drive gear rotatable about a vertical center axis;
- e. a plurality of pump gears positioned around the drive gear means and in operative engagement therewith, said pump gears arranged to travel in a circular path around said center axis in response to rotation of said drive gear, said pump gears and said drive gear being mounted at a lower part of said second housing section in a common operating plane at approximately a level of said first housing section;
- f. said second housing section comprising a pump housing portion having a wall section with an inwardly facing generally circular curved pressure surface surrounding said center axis, and positioned in said common operating plate at the level of the first housing section;
- g. a compressible Pump tube having an inlet portion, an outlet portion, and an intermediate portion extending along said pressure surface, said pump tube being positioned in said common operating plane between said curved pressure surface and said pump gears so that the pump tube is compressed along its length by the pump gears rotating about said center axis and exerting radial forces outwardly directly to said tube;
- h. said pump tube having said inlet and outlet ends located in said first housing section, and extending outwardly therefrom.
5 more elements
An applicator to receive paint unver pressure in a powered painting system and to dispense said paint, said apparatus comprising:
- a. a housing structure having a lengthwise axis and comprising an inner housing portion comprising first and second housing sections and a third outer housing section, said first, second, and third housing sections being adapted to be removably interfitted to form said housing structure as a unitary housing structure where the first, second, and third housing sections are fixedly positioned relative to one another in an operating position and define a plurality of feed openings along said lengthwise axis;
- b. said inner housing portion having interior wall means which, with said first and second sections positioned against each other in said operating position, form distribution passageway means comprising an inlet, a plenum to receive paint from said inlet, and a plurality of distribution passageways defining flow paths leading from said plenum to each of said feed openings, said distribution passageways being characterized in that said flow paths have substantially similar length and cross-sectional configurations, whereby flow of pain through said flow paths is substantially uniform;
- c. said third housing section having an overall generally cylindrical configuration and having interior slide way means extending along said lengthwise axis and arranged to slidably and removably receive said first and second sections in said operating positions, said first and second housing sections being characterized in that with said first, second and third housing sections in said operating position, said first and second housing sections extend in side-by-side relationship along said lengthwise axis within said third housing section and along a substantial length dimension of said third housing section;
- d. a discharge roller cover mexber having a generally cylindrical configuration and adapted to be rotatably mounted around said third housing section, said cover member having an outer applicator surface and being sufficiently permeable so as to permit flow of paint therethrough so as to receive flow of paint from said feed openings and to discharge paint at said outer applicator surface.
1 more element
A painting system, comprising:
- a. a supply section comprising a pump adapted to pump liquid paint from a paint source;
- b. an applicator section comprising an applicator to dispense the paint from the applicator;
- c. a delivery and control section comprising:
- 1. a delivery tube having a receiving end to receive the paint from the pump, a delivery passageway to carry the paint, and a discharge end to delivery paint to the applicator;
- 2. a pump switch operatively connected to the pump to cause the pump to operate, said switch having an on-positioned and an off-position;
- 3. an activating switch proximate to the applicator section and operatively connected to said pump switch, said activating switch having a release position to move the pump switch to its off position to inactive the pump and interrupt delivery of paint, and an activating position to move the pump switch to its on position to activate the pump and cause delivery of the paint;
- d. said supply section being provided with a lid to close a paint container, said lid having a tube receiving structure defining a through opening to receive a feed tube to withdraw paint from the paint container and deliver the paint to the pump, said tube receiving structure adapted to interfit with a discharge end fitting of the delivery and control section, whereby paint that is pumped through said delivery and control section can be returned to said paint container.
4 more elements
A method of clearing a powered painting system of paint, said method comprising:
- a. providing an apparatus comprising:
- 1. a supply section comprising a pump adapted to pump liquid paint from a paint source;
- 2. an applicator section comprising an applicator to dispense the paint from the applicator;
- 3. a delivery and control section comprising:
- i. a delivery tube having a receiving end to receive the paint from the pump, a delivery passageway to carry the paint, and a discharge end to deliver paint to the applicator;
- ii. a pump switch operatively connected to the pump to cause the pump to operate, said switch having an on-position and an off-position;
- iii. an activating switch proximate to the applicator section and operatively connected to said pump switch, said activating switch having a release position to move the pump switch to its off position to inactivate the pump and interrupt delivery of paint, and an activating position to move the pump switch to its on position to activate the pump and cause delivery of the paint;
- 4. said supply section is provided with a lid to close a paint container, said lid having a tube receiving structure defining a through opening to receive a feed tube to withdraw paint from the paint container and deliver the paint to the pump, said tube receiving structure adapted to interfit with a discharge end fitting at the delivery and control section:
- b. operating said pump to cause paint to be discharged through said delivery and control section for painting;
- c. removing said feed tube from said lid and from said paint container;
- d. disconnecting said end fitting from the delivery and control section and inserting said end fitting into said opening in the lid;
- e. operating said pump to cause paint to be moved through said delivery tube and into said paint container.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.