The subject matter of the invention is a process for controlling a multiplicity of spray tools for the surface coating of vehicles or parts thereof. With stored program control, the settings for the multiplicity of spray tool which determine the paint flow through each tool are issued centrally to the control elements associated with the spray tools. The trajectory points for the tools, which are stored with coarse spacing or obtained by coarse interpolation from already stored trajectory points, are applied as reference values to the attitude controllers serving each spray tool; from the said position controllers, additional trajectory points are determined by fine interpolation between the transmitted trajectory points and processed in the position controller by means of actual position values.

A paint spray system for directing paint to a part has a paint atomizer head having a bell housing and a bell-atomizer. An electrically conductive tape is applied to a surface of the paint atomizer. The tape may be applied to the bell housing or the front surface or side surfaces of the support housing. Tape is electrically connected to a power source to generate an electrical field and thereby an electrical force on charged paint particles produced at bell-atomizer. The electrical field repels the paint particles from the paint atomizer head to reduce the maintenance of the paint spray system.

The present invention relates to an automatic spray painting machine comprising a first movable portion movable in a direction toward and away from a work object, a second movable portion movable in a specified direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the first movable portion, a supporting portion for supporting a spray nozzle, a first actuator for moving the first movable portion, and a second actuator for moving the second movable portion. The first and second actuators are mounted on the supporting portion. The automatic spray painting machine further includes a transmission mechanism for transmitting drive of the actuator to the movable portion positioned closer to the spray nozzle in the supporting order effects drive transmission, with the other movable portion positioned closer to the supporting portion in the supporting order being allowed to move.

In a coating product sprayer device forming an overhead machine comprising a boom carrying at least one sprayer mobile relative to objects to be sprayed the boom is moved up and down and to track the objects laterally by flexible strips which form part of the wall of the booth. The invention can also be applied to a lateral machine, yielding a lateral machine with five degrees of freedom.

An apparatus for mounting and moving coating dispensers within the interior of a spray booth, and particularly the coating dispensers located above an object moving through the booth, comprises a dispenser housing having an aerodynamically shaped outer surface formed with a leading edge, a trailing edge and opposed generally curved sides. A pair of support assemblies isolated from the booth interior mount the dispenser housing in the path of a downward flow of air within the booth interior within which oversprayed coating material is entrained for collection such that the leading edge of the dispenser housing faces the top or ceiling of the spray booth and its trailing edge faces the objects moving through the booth. One or more coating dispensers are mounted at the trailing edge of the dispenser housing in a position to discharge powder coating material downwardly onto the object, such as the hood, roof and trunk of a vehicle body. Each support assembly carries one side of the dispenser housing and structure is provided on at least one of the support assemblies for moving the dispenser housing vertically, side-to-side and pivotally with respect to objects moving through the booth.