Apparatus for painting articles

Claim 2

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like, which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably secured to said track; means for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track attached to said frame; means attached to each of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said supporting means comprising: a block of rectangular shape slidably attached to said carriage member so that said block may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members; eyelets attachable to the forward, rearward and middle portions of each article to be supported; a first arm rigidly attached to said block supporting an eyelet attachable to the forward portion of an article to be supported on said supporting means; a second arm rigidly attached to said block for supporting one of said eyelets attachable to the rearward portion of an article to be supported by said supporting means; a third arm slidably attached to said block and having one end formed in the shape of a hook for engaging an eyelet attachable to a middle portion of one of said articles to be supported on said supporting means; and resilient means for urging said third arm toward said block attached to said third arm and attached to said block whereby said article may be rigidly supported by said first and second arms; means for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track attached to said frame; means for drying said painted articles attached to said frame; and means for removing said painted and dried articles from said apparatus attached to said frame.

Claim 3

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like, which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably sEcured to said track; means for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track attached to said frame; means attached to each of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said supporting means comprising: a block of rectangular shape of slidably attached to said carriage member so that said block may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members; and means for rigidly holding said article to be painted attached to said block; means for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track attached to said frame; means attached to said frame for painting specific patterns on each of said articles as said articles are advanced along said track, said means for painting specific patterns comprising: a spray painting gun rigidly attached to said frame and positioned perpendicularly to a portion of said track at a level adapted for alignment of said spray painting gun with articles to be painted as they are advanced over said track; a support member slidably attached to said frame below the level of said spray painting gun so that said support member is free to move in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said articles; a pair of parallel arms attached to said support member and adapted to extend between said spray painting gun and articles supported on said article supporting means; a cylindrical roller rotatably attached to said pair of arms at a position above the level of said spray gun; a supply of elongated template material attached to said support member, said template material being formed in a pattern to be painted on said articles, and being disposed over said cylindrical roller so that a portion thereof is positioned between said spray painting gun and said articles; latching means attached to said support member for latching said support member to each of said blocks as said blocks are advanced over said portion of said track thereby causing said support member and template material to be simultaneously advanced past said spray gun with each of the articles being painted so that said pattern is painted on said articles; and means for causing said latching means to be unlatched from each of said blocks after the respective block has advanced past said spray painting gun, and for returning said support member to a position whereby it may be advanced past said paint spraying gun with the next of said blocks; means for drying said painted articles attached to said frame; and means for removing said painted and dried articles from said apparatus attached to said frame.

Claim 4

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like, which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably sEcured to said track; means for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track attached to said frame; means attached to each of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said supporting means comprising: a block of rectangular shape of slidably attached to said carriage member so that said block may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members; and means for rigidly holding said article to be painted attached to said block; means for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track attached to said frame; means attached to said frame for painting specific patterns on each of said articles as said articles are advanced along said track, said means for painting specific patterns comprising: a spray painting gun rigidly attached to said frame and positioned perpendicularly to a portion of said track at a level adapted for alignment of said spray painting gun with articles to be painted as they are advanced over said track; a support member slidably attached to said frame below the level of said spray painting gun so that said support member is free to move in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said articles; a pair of parallel arms attached to said support member and adapted to extend between said spray painting gun and articles supported on said article supporting means; a cylindrical roller rotatably attached to said pair of arms at a position above the level of said spray gun; a supply of elongated template material attached to said support member, said template material being formed in a pattern to be painted on said articles, and being disposed over said cylindrical roller so that a portion thereof is positioned between said spray painting gun and said articles; latching means attached to said support member for latching said support member to each of said blocks as said blocks are advanced over said portion of said track thereby causing said support member and template material to be simultaneously advanced past said spray gun with each of the articles being painted so that said pattern is painted on said articles; and means for causing said latching means to be unlatched from each of said blocks after the respective block has advanced past said spray painting gun, and for returning said support member to a position whereby it may be advanced past said paint spraying gun with the next of said blocks; means for drying said painted articles attached to said frame; and means for removing said painted and dried articles from said apparatus attached to said frame.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2 which is further characterized to include means attached to said support member for periodically advancing said template material over said cylindrical roller.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 2 which is further characterized to include means for shielding the lower portion of each of said articles painted disposed between said spray painting gun and said template material.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said means for shielding the lower portion of each of said articles painted comprises: a cylindrical roller rotatably attached to said frame and positioned between the lower portion of said articles being painted and said spray painting gun; a supply of elongated paper attached to said frame having a portion thereof disposed over said roller; and means for periodically advancing said paper over said roller attached to said frame.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 2 which is further characterized to include means for simultaneously moving said article being painted and said template material in directions perpendicular to said track as said article being painted and said template material are advanced past said spray painting gun.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said means for simultaneously moving said article being painted and said template material in directions perpendicular to said track comprises: a cam member attached to said frame having a cam surface which will impart movement in directions perpendicular to said track to a cam follower when said cam follower is advanced in a direction parallel to said track; a cam follower member slidably secured to said cam surface of said cam member; said support member being attached to said cam follower member so that when said support member is moved forwardly with said block, said support member, said template material, said block and said article are simultaneously moved in directions perpendicular to said track.

Claim 10

Apparatus for painting an article such as fishing lures and the like, which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably secured to said track; means for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track attached to said frame; means attached to each of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said article supporting means comprising: a block of rectangular shape slidably attached to said carriage member so that said block may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members; and means for rigidly holding said article to be painted attached to said block; means for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track attached to said frame; means attached to said frame for painting limited areas on both sides of said articles as said articles are advanced along said track, said limited area painting means comprising: a pair of spray painting guns attached to said frame and adapted for spraying paint at the level of articles along said track, said spray painting guns being positioned on opposite sides of said track perpendicularly to said track and facing each other; a cylindrical roller rotatably attached to said frame at a position above the level of said spray painting guns and between said spray painting guns; a supply of elongated template material attached to said frame, said template material having a plurality of openings therein formed in the shape of the areas to be painted on said articles, and being disposed over said cylindrical roller so that portions thereof having said openings therein are disposed on both sides of said articles between said articles and said spray painting guns; means for stopping said chain of carriage members from advancing along said track as each article to be painted is advanced to a point adjacent said template material and said spray guns; means for causing said spray painting guns to spray paint on said template material and the respective article aligned with said template material when said chain of carriage members is stopped; and means for starting said chain of carriage members after each article has been painted; means attached to said frame for drying said painted articles; and means attached to said frame for removing said painted and dried articles from said apparatus.

Claim 11

Apparatus for painting an article such as fishing lures and the like, which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably secured to said track; means for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track attached to said frame; means attached to each of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said article supporting means comprising: a block of rectangular shape slidably attached to said carriage member so that said block may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members; and means for rigidly holding said article to be painted attached to said block; means for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track attached to said frame; means attached to said frame for painting limited areas on both sides of said articles as said articles are advanced along said track, said limited area painting means comprising: a pair of spray painting guns attached to said frame and adapted for spraying paint at the level of articles along said track, said spray painting guns being positioned on opposite sides of said track perpendicularly to said track and facing each other; a cylindrical roller rotatably attached to said frame at a position above the level of said spray painting guns and between said spray painting guns; a supply of elongated template material attached to said frame, said template material having a plurality of openings therein formed in the shape of the areas to be painted on said articles, and being disposed over said cylindrical roller so that portions thereof having said openings therein are disposed on both sides of said articles between said articles and said spray painting guns; means for stopping said chain of carriage members from advancing along said track as each article to be painted is advanced to a point adjacent said template material and said spray guns; means for causing said spray painting guns to spray paint on said template material and the respective article aligned with said template material when said chain of carriage members is stopped; and means for starting said chain of carriage members after each article has been painted; means attached to said frame for drying said painted articles; and means attached to said frame for removing said painted and dried articles from said apparatus.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 8 which is further characterized to include means for periodically advancing said template material over said cylindrical roller so that fresh template material is periodically positioned on both sides of said article between said article and said spray painting guns.

Claim 13

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like which comprises: a frame having continuous elongated track means attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain movable carried by said track means; means attached to said frame for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track means; means attached to individual ones of a plurality of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said means compriSing: a block movably mounted on said carriage member for movement in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members on said track; and means attached to said block for holding an article to be painted, said article holding means comprising: first arm means attached to said block for supporting a leading portion of an article to painted rigidly above said block; second arm means attached to said block for supporting a trailing portion of said article to be painted rigidly above said block; third arm means adapted for engagement with a middle section of said article to be painted between said leading and trailing portions, said third arm means being slidably attached to said block; and resilient means attached to said third arm means and to said block for urging said third arm means toward said block to hold an article to be painted rigidly supported on said first arm means and said second arm means; and means attached to said frame for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track means

Claim 14

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like which comprises: a frame having continuous elongated track means attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain movable carried by said track means; means attached to said frame for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track means; means attached to individual ones of a plurality of said carriage members for supporting an article to be painted thereon, said means compriSing: a block movably mounted on said carriage member for movement in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members on said track; and means attached to said block for holding an article to be painted, said article holding means comprising: first arm means attached to said block for supporting a leading portion of an article to painted rigidly above said block; second arm means attached to said block for supporting a trailing portion of said article to be painted rigidly above said block; third arm means adapted for engagement with a middle section of said article to be painted between said leading and trailing portions, said third arm means being slidably attached to said block; and resilient means attached to said third arm means and to said block for urging said third arm means toward said block to hold an article to be painted rigidly supported on said first arm means and said second arm means; and means attached to said frame for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track means

Claim 15

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably secured to said track; means attached to said frame for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track; a block slidably attached to each one of a plurality of said carriage members so that each of said blocks may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members on said track; means attached to each of said blocks for holding thereon an article to be painted; means attached to said frame for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track; means attached to said frame for painting specific patterns on each of said articles as said articles are advanced along said track, said means for painting specific patterns comprising: a spray painting gun attached to said frame and positioned perpendicularly to a portion of said track for painting articles advanced over said track; a support member slidably attached to said frame below the level of said spray painting gun so that said support member is free to move in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said articles to be painted; a pair of parallel arms attached to said support member extending between said spray painting gun and the path of articles during painting; a cylinder roller rotatably attached to said pair of arms at a position above the level of said spray gun; a supply of elongated template material attached to said support member, said template material being formed in the pattern to be painted on said articles, and being disposed over said cylindrical roller so that a portion thereof is positioned between said spray painting gun and said articles; latching means attached to said support member for latching said support member to each of said blocks as said blocks are advanced over said portion of said track thereby causing said support member and template material to be simultaneously advanced past said spray gun with each of said articles being painted so that said pattern is painted on said articles; and means for causing said latching means to be unlatched from each of said blocks after said block has advanced past said spray painting gun, and for returning said support member to a position whereby it may be advanced past said spray painting gun with the next of said blocks.

Claim 16

Apparatus for painting articles such as fishing lures and the like which comprises: a frame having a continuous elongated track attached thereto; a plurality of carriage members connected together to form a continuous chain thereof movably secured to said track; means attached to said frame for advancing said chain of carriage members over said track; a block slidably attached to each one of a plurality of said carriage members so that each of said blocks may be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said chain of carriage members on said track; means attached to each of said blocks for holding thereon an article to be painted; means attached to said frame for painting said articles as said articles are advanced along said track; means attached to said frame for painting specific patterns on each of said articles as said articles are advanced along said track, said means for painting specific patterns comprising: a spray painting gun attached to said frame and positioned perpendicularly to a portion of said track for painting articles advanced over said track; a support member slidably attached to said frame below the level of said spray painting gun so that said support member is free to move in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said articles to be painted; a pair of parallel arms attached to said support member extending between said spray painting gun and the path of articles during painting; a cylinder roller rotatably attached to said pair of arms at a position above the level of said spray gun; a supply of elongated template material attached to said support member, said template material being formed in the pattern to be painted on said articles, and being disposed over said cylindrical roller so that a portion thereof is positioned between said spray painting gun and said articles; latching means attached to said support member for latching said support member to each of said blocks as said blocks are advanced over said portion of said track thereby causing said support member and template material to be simultaneously advanced past said spray gun with each of said articles being painted so that said pattern is painted on said articles; and means for causing said latching means to be unlatched from each of said blocks after said block has advanced past said spray painting gun, and for returning said support member to a position whereby it may be advanced past said spray painting gun with the next of said blocks.