Method of painting an automobile body

Claim 3

A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the robot system (10) with which the method is carried out comprises at least two programme-controlled robots (26) as aforesaid located within the paint module (12), each of the robots (26) having an arm (38) as aforesaid provided with a support head (42) as aforesaid which is movable about the five control axes (46 etc.), means (24, 66) for conveying the automobile body (20) into the paint module (12) and for locating the automobile body (20) in a stationary and predetermined position relative to the robots (26) during the painting of the automobile body (20), a bell-type atomizing device (44) as aforesaid mounted on the support head (42) of the arm (38) and having a sufficiently small size to enable the atomizing device (44) to apply paint to hidden surfaces of the automobile body (20) and to be inserted within inner compartment areas of the automobile body (20), means (78) for rotating the bell (74) of the atomizing device (44) about its spin axis (80) at a speed which causes mechanical atomization of liquid paint supplied to the atomizing device (44), means (72) for creating an electrostatic field between the bell (74) of the atomizing device (44) and the automobile body (20) for causing the atomized liquid paint to be directed from the atomizing device (44) to the automobile body (20) in a cone-shaped pattern (84), and control means (64) for causing the support head (42) of the arm (38) to move the atomizing device (44) about the five control axes (46 etc.) at a speed which, due to the said small size of the atomizing device (44) in conjunction with the action of the robot (26), will prevent any gyroscopic effect from distorting the cone-shaped pattern (84) due to movement of the atomizing device (44) about the five control axes (46 etc.).

Claim 4

A method according to claim 1 or 2, utilizing at least two robots (26) as aforesaid, characterised in that in step b. the automobile body (20) is located in the said predetermined position relative to the robots (26) and is maintained in the said predetermined position, in step c. the bell (74) of the atomizing device (44) of each of the robots (26) is rotated about its spin axis (80) at a speed between 20,000 and 30,000 RPM, and in step e. the bell (74) is moved along the vertically oriented and horizontally oriented surfaces of the automobile body (20) at the said speed which will prevent any gyroscopic effect developed by the rotating bell (74) from distorting the cone-shaped pattern (84) as the bell (74) is moved about the five control axes (46 etc.), in proper orientation relative to the said surfaces.

Claim 5

A method according to claim 3, characterised in that the bell (74) is moving along the vertically and horizontally oriented surface at a speed no greaterthan 0.43 metres/second (1.4 feet/second).