Electrostatic coating apparatus

Claim 1

IN AN ELECTROSTATIC COATING ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A CIRCULAR-EDGED ATOMIZER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS, MEANS FOR FEEDING LIQUID COATING MATERIAL TO THE ATOMIZER, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE ATOMIZER TO FLOW THE COATING MATERIAL TO THE OUTER EDGE THEREOF FOR ATOMIZATION THEREFROM AS A SPRAY OF FINELY DIVIDED PARTICLES, A GROUNDED CONVEYOR LYING IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE AND A PLURALITY OF SUPPORTS EACH HAVING AN ARTICLE SUPPORTING PORTION SPACED PERPENDICULARLY FROM SAID CONVEYOR EACH SUPPORTING AN ARTICLE FOR MOVING THE ARTICLES IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL, CURVED PATH SURROUNDING THE ATOMIZER AND SPACED VERTICALLY FROM THE CONVEYOR, A SOURCE OF HIGH VOLTAGE CONNECTED TO THE ATOMIZER TO CREATE A HIGH ELECTROSTATIC POTENTIAL BETWEEN THE ATOMIZER AND THE SURROUNDING GROUNDED ARTICLES ELECTROSTATICALLY TO DEPOSIT THE PARTICLES ON THE ARTICLES AS A COATING, AND MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING THE ATOMIZER GENERALLY ALONG SAID VERTICAL AXIS BETWEEN LIMITS GENERALLY DEFINED AS BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS OF THE ARTICLES BEING COATED, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A DEFLECTING MEMBER, MEANS INDEPENDENT OF THE RECIPROCATING ATOMIZER FOR SUPPORTING THE DEFLECTING MEMBER IN A FIXED POSITION SPACED AXIALLY FROM SAID ATOMIZER AND ON THE SAME SIDE THEREOF AS THE CONVEYOR AND BETWEEN THE ATOMIZER AND THE CONVEYOR, SAID DEFLECTING MEMBER BEYOND THE LIMITS OF ATOMIZER RECIPROCATON, AND MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID DEFLECTING MEMBER TO SAID HIGH VOLTAGE SOURCE FOR MAINTAINING SAID DEFLECTING MEMBER AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME POTENTIAL AS SAID ATOMIZER TO INHIBIT THE DEPOSITION OF SPRAY PARTICLES ONTO THE SUPPORTS AND THE CONVEYOR.