Spray coating process and apparatus

An apparatus for spray coating articles comprising,

• a housing defining a coating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, and a conveyor system to carry articles to be coated through said coating chamber from said inlet to said outlet opening, said coating chamber including a reservoir into which excess coating material supplied into said chamber will accumulate, said reservoir having an outlet opening coupled to a recirculation system to return excess coating material to an external supply of coating material for reuse thereof, wherein said recirculation system is closed to prevent excess coating material from exposure to the external atmosphere,
• doors provided to cover said inlet and outlet openings, and a control system to selectively open and close said doors allowing entrance and exit of an article into and from said chamber,
• a supply system for supplying a coating material into said coating chamber for coating of articles within said chamber, wherein the introduction of said coating material into said chamber creates a predetermined atmosphere within said chamber, with said automatic doors and control system substantially preventing the introduction of the outside atmosphere into said chamber to maintain said predetermined atmosphere therein.

An apparatus for spray coating articles comprising,

• a housing defining a coating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, and a conveyor system to carry articles to be coated through said coating chamber from said inlet to said outlet opening, said coating chamber being cylindrical and
• doors provided to cover said inlet and outlet openings, and a control system to selectively open and close said doors allowing entrance and exit of an article into and from said chamber,
• a supply system for supplying a coating material into said coating chamber for coating of articles within said chamber, said supply system including a plurality of spray nozzles situated about said coating chamber so as to substantially surround an article introduced into said coating chamber, wherein the introduction of said coating material into said chamber creates a predetermined atmosphere within said chamber, with said automatic doors and control system substantially preventing the introduction of the outside atmosphere into said chamber to maintain said predetermined atmosphere therein.