US 8,474,398 B2Granted

Patch application system

AssigneeLong-Lok Fasteners Corporation

InventorTerry J. Rowley

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A patch application system is provided comprising a powder application booth. The powder application booth comprises a powder block to temporarily house the powder prior to ejection, a nozzle insert to guide the powder onto the screw, a support stand to adjust the powder block to the appropriate position relative to the screw for a desired patch location and size, a powder cup to deliver the powder to the powder block. A programmable logic controller electronically coupled to the micro air-switch valve controls the duration the air-switch valve remains open. The entire process may be automated by including a screw hopper to temporarily store a plurality of screws, a bowl feeder receiving the screws and delivering the screws to a rotating disk, wherein the rotating disk passes the screws through a heating element and presents the heated screws to the powder application booth.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A patch application system, comprising a powder application booth, the powder application booth comprising:

(a) a powder block comprising a chamber, a powder ejection orifice, a powder entry orifice, and an air flow orifice, wherein a powder is delivered into the chamber through the powder entry orifice and the powder in the chamber is ejected onto a screw through the powder ejection orifice by a pulse of air delivered through the air flow orifice;
(b) a nozzle insert housed inside the powder ejection orifice, the nozzle insert comprising two semi-circular pegs fitted inside the powder ejection orifice such that a gap exists between the two semi-circular peg, wherein the gap narrows a vertical dimension of the powder ejection orifice;
(c) a support stand to support the powder block, the support stand being adjustable so as to move the powder ejection orifice in an up and down direction, a side-to-side direction, and a forward and backward direction, to position the powder ejection orifice in relation to the screw so as to form a proper patch location;
(d) a powder cup attached to the powder entry orifice of the powder block, the powder cup being in a shape of a funnel and comprising an open top through which the powder can be added and an open bottom through which the powder can exit into the powder block;
(e) a micro air-switch valve to control the pulse of air entering into the powder block;
(f) an air dryer to dry the air prior to entering the powder block;
(g) an air filter to clean the air prior to entering the powder block;
(h) a precision regulator to adjust an air pressure of the pulse of air sent into the powder block, wherein the air pressure is from approximately 0.5 psi to approximately 10 psi;
(i) an air compressor to provide a source of the pulse of air, wherein the air pressure at the source of the pulse of air is 120 psi;
(j) a programmable logic controller electronically coupled to the micro air-switch valve to control a duration the micro air-switch valve remains open, wherein the duration the micro air-switch valve remains open is 0.01 second to 0.5 second;
(k) a powder recovery system located below the screw to capture an unused powder that does not fuse with the screw, the powder recovery system comprising a vacuum system and a powder chiller/filter, the vacuum system providing a suction to capture the unused powder, the powder chiller/filter filtering out the unused powder larger than a single grain of the powder;
and
(l) a shaft encoder, wherein the shaft encoder senses a presence of the screw and sends a signal to the programmable logic controller to deliver the pulse of air through the powder block to eject the powder onto the screw.

10 more elements

A patch application system, comprising:

(a) a powder application booth comprising:
(i) a powder block comprising a chamber, a powder ejection orifice, a powder entry orifice, and an air flow orifice, wherein a powder is delivered into the chamber through a powder entry orifice and the powder in the chamber is ejected onto a screw through the powder ejection orifice by a pulse of air delivered through the air flow orifice,
(ii) a nozzle insert housed inside the powder ejection orifice, the nozzle insert comprising two pegs fitted inside the powder ejection orifice to narrow a vertical dimension of the powder ejection orifice,
(iii) a micro air-switch valve to control the pulse of air entering into the powder block,
(iv) a precision regulator to adjust an air pressure of the pulse of air sent into the powder block,
(v) an air compressor to provide a source of the pulse of air,
(vi) a programmable logic controller electronically coupled to the micro air-switch valve to control a duration the micro air-switch valve remains open,
(b) an induction heating coil adjacent to a rotating disk, wherein the induction heating coil heats the screw to a temperature that will cause the powder to melt upon contact with a heated screw;
(c) a cold water/oil quench located below a parts discharge chute to capture and cool an ejected screw, thereby solidifying the resin onto the screw,
(d) a rotating disk, wherein the rotating disk delivers the screw to the powder application booth;
and
(e) a plurality of removable slots configured to accommodate the screw, wherein the plurality of removable slots are larger than a neck of the screw, but smaller than a head of the screw so that the screw can hang vertically by the head with the neck hanging below the head.

9 more elements

A patch application system, comprising:

(a) a powder application booth comprising:
(i) a powder block comprising a chamber, a powder ejection orifice, a powder entry orifice, and an air flow orifice, wherein a powder is delivered into the chamber through a powder entry orifice and the powder in the chamber is ejected onto a screw through the powder ejection orifice by a pulse of air delivered through the air flow orifice,
(ii) a nozzle insert housed inside the powder ejection orifice, the nozzle insert comprising two pegs fitted inside the powder ejection orifice to narrow a vertical dimension of the powder ejection orifice,
(iii) a micro air-switch valve to control the pulse of air entering into the powder block,
(iv) a precision regulator to adjust an air pressure of the pulse of air sent into the powder block,
(v) an air compressor to provide a source of the pulse of air,
(vi) a programmable logic controller electronically coupled to the micro air-switch valve to control a duration the micro air-switch valve remains open,
(b) an induction heating coil adjacent to a rotating disk, wherein the induction heating coil heats the screw to a temperature that will cause the powder to melt upon contact with a heated screw;
(c) a cold water/oil quench located below a parts discharge chute to capture and cool an ejected screw, thereby solidifying the resin onto the screw,
(d) a shaft encoder, wherein the shaft encoder senses a presence of the screw and sends a signal to the programmable logic controller to deliver a puff of air through the powder block to eject the powder onto the screw;
(e) a bowl feeder adjacent to the rotating disk, wherein the bowl feeder delivers the screw into the plurality of removable slots of the rotating disk;
(f) a screw hopper connected to the bowl feeder, wherein the screw hopper contains the plurality of screws to be delivered to the rotating disk by the bowl feeder;
(g) a screw ejector adjacent to the rotating disk, wherein the screw ejector ejects the plurality of screws out of the plurality of removable slots after application of the powder;
and
(h) a parts discharge chute to catch the screw ejected from the slot.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/899,458Filed 6 Oct 2010 · division
Priority: 1 Oct 2007
Published: US 2011/0017137 A127 Jan 2011
Granted: 2 Jul 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

B05D 1/12
Performed by spraying: applying particulate materials
B05B 14/48
For use in spray booths: specially adapted for particulate material
B05C 19/04
Apparatus specially adapted for applying particulate materials to surfaces: the particulate material being projected, poured or allowed to flow…
B05D 3/0245
Pretreatment, e.g. heating the substrate: with induction heating

Family

Application11/906,305Parent of this division · filed 1 Oct 2007
US 2011/0017137 A1Pre-grant publication · published 27 Jan 2011
US 7,811,629 B2Parent of this division
US 2009/0087555 A1Published application
US 8,474,398 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.