Powder coating apparatus and method
AssigneeND Industries, Inc.
InventorJohn S. Wallace
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A powder coating apparatus and method feeds fine powdered coating material such as thermoplastic type material to a succession of discrete articles passing by the apparatus which includes a vibratory feeder bowl and a spiral track for delivering a substantially constant supply of powder coating material to the articles. A sensor is also used to regulate an amount of powdered coating material supplied to an auger to the vibratory feeder. The invention also provides a powder feed system that deposits an excess of powdered coating material than that required to form the coating and provides for recirculation of the powder not ultimately used to form the coating back to the powder feeding apparatus.
Claims7
An apparatus for depositing powdered material onto fasteners passing by the apparatus to form a coating on at least a portion of the fasteners, comprising:
- a vibratory feeder bowl having an open top and a closed bottom;
- a material exit for discharging said powdered material from said bowl;
- vibrating means for vibrating said bowl to urge the powdered material in a consistent flow from the bottom of the bowl to the material exit;
- directing means for directing the consistent flow of the powdered material being deposited against the fasteners;
- and
- a conveyor system for continuously delivering said fasteners along a substantially straight-line path to said directing means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.