Machine for underwater painting

Claim 1

In a machine for underwater painting of a metal surface of ships and offshore constructions which includes a frame, an open bottom painting chamber connected to the frame, pneumatic tire wheels on the frame operatively supporting the frame, an annular inflatable sealing tube surrounding the periphery of the open bottom of the painting chamber, electromagnets disposed on the frame about the painting chamber, one buoyancy tank fitted to the frame, and paint jetting nozzles disposed within the painting chamber, the improvement of the machine further comprising a further buoyancy tank symmetrically disposed on the frame on an opposite side from the one buoyancy tank, a ballast tank centrally disposed on the frame, means for maneuvering at least one of the wheels through a limited angular range, and means for moving the paint jetting nozzles around in the painting chamber; and wherein the electromagnets each comprise an iron core, a coil wound about said iron core, a bolting hole in said iron core for affixing said electromagnet to the frame, and a magnet plate welded to said iron core hermetically sealing said coil in said core whereby the depth of the magnetic field is relatively great and the attenuation of magnetic force to increase in the distance from the metal surface is relatively low.