Abstract:
A spray system sprays an object within an enclosure. A plurality of gutters affixed to sidewalls of the enclosure catch excess spray for reuse. The gutters are affixed to sidewalls and hold a garment such that a shield is formed that protects the areas under a platen from overspray.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application 61/590,920 filed Jan. 26, 2012, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Current overspray systems for pre-treating garments before a printing process may be open to the environment. Airborne particles may escape from the system, creating sticky or slippery surfaces outside the system, as well as creating air pollution. 
         [0003]    As can be seen, there is a need for an improved overspray system. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In one aspect of the invention, an overspray protection system comprises a housing; a printing structure disposed to support a printable object within the housing; a plurality of gutters affixed to sidewalls of the housing and adjacent to the printing structure; and a spray mechanism disposed to spray the printable object inside the housing. 
         [0005]    In another aspect of the invention, an overspray protection system comprises an enclosed housing, wherein the enclosed housing includes a front wall, a back wall, a top, side walls, and a drawer; a platen within the enclosed housing on the drawer disposed to hold a printable object; a plurality of gutters affixed to the inside of the enclosed housing; and a spraying mechanism disposed to spray the printable object inside the enclosed housing, wherein the spraying mechanism includes a moveable spray mechanism that is disposed to spray the printable object by moving from side to side over the printable object. 
         [0006]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective front view of an overspray protection system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the overspray protection system of FIG.; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective front view of the overspray protection system of  FIG. 1  showing a drawer in an open position; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a detailed view of the drawer of  FIG. 2  showing a garment exploded from placement within the overspray protection system of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a detailed view of the drawer of  FIG. 2  showing the garment positioning position for spraying; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of a gutter of the overspray system from  FIG. 3  including a rounded front side of the gutter; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is cross-sectional front view of the overspray protection system taken along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of the overspray protection system taken along line  8 - 8  in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
         [0016]    Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention generally provides an overspray protection system for the pretreating of garments before a printing process. 
         [0017]    Current devices for pretreating garments before a printing process may not be designed to contain the spray to just the portion of the object being sprayed, which may result in contamination of internal parts of an enclosed housing. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows an overspray protection system  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The overspray protection system  10  may include an enclosed housing  14  including a front wall  13 , a back wall  56  ( FIG. 7 ), a top section  30 , side walls  17 , a drawer  16  on one of the side walls, a side window  52  on the side walls  17 , and a front window  54  on the front wall  13 . The enclosed housing  14  may help to contain the airborne particles that dissipate during the pretreatment spraying process, preventing air pollution. 
         [0019]    The drawer  16  may be slid in and out of the enclosed housing  14 . A handle  18  may be secured to the drawer  16 . The handle  18  may facilitate the opening and closing of the drawer  16 . 
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a start button  46  and a stop button  48  may be located on the enclosed housing  14 . The start button  46  and the stop button  48  may allow an operator to respectively start or stop the operation of the overspray protection system  10 . 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3-6 , the drawer  16  may include a base  24  and slide brackets  26  secured to the sides of the base. The slide brackets  26  may allow the drawer  16  to slide in and out of the enclosed housing  14 . 
         [0022]    A stand  22  may be located on top of the base  24 . The stand  22  may raise from the base  24  a portion of a printable object such as, for example, a garment  12  to be pretreated. A printing structure such as a platen  20  may be located on top of the stand  22 . In an exemplary embodiment, the platen  20  may be part of a conveyor belt system. The platen  20  may receive and hold the garment  12  in place during the pretreatment process. The platen  20  may be stationary or moveable. The garment  12  may be placed on the platen  20  such that the garment  12  rests against gutters  32 . 
         [0023]    An optional sealing strip  21 A ( FIGS. 4-5 ) may be placed on the ends of the platen  20  and may abut the sidewalls  17 . The sealing strip  21  A may help to seal the enclosed housing  14  to prevent contaminants from escaping the enclosed housing. 
         [0024]    The portion of the garment  12  not being pretreated may hang down from the stand  22 , off of the platen  20 , and then fold against the outside edge of the gutters  32 . 
         [0025]    The gutter  32  may include a rounded front side  40 . The rounded front side  40  may prevent a folded garment  42  from being stuck when sliding the drawer  16  inside the enclosed housing  14 . 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIGS. 7-8 , a spray mechanism  28  may be located on the upper end  30  inside the enclosed housing  14 . The spray mechanism  28  may spray a pretreatment solution  34  onto the garment  12 . In some embodiments, the spray mechanism  28  may spray solution  34  as it moves from one side wall  17  of the enclosed housing  14  to the other side wall  17 , coating the entire portion of the garment  12  located on top of the platen  20 . In an exemplary embodiment, the spray mechanism  28  may also move from front to back on the platen  20 . The spray area of the spray mechanism  28  may be usually larger than the area of the platen  20 , which may produce the overspray  36 . The overspray  36  may be captured on the walls  13 ,  17 ,  56  of the enclosed housing  14  and then drip into the gutters  32 . The gutters  32  may be mounted to the side walls  17  and the gutters  32  may extend underneath of at least one side of the platen  20 . The gutters  32  may be positioned so that an innermost edge  33  of each gutter  32  extends underneath of the platen  20 , allowing the platen  20  to hang over the gutter  32 . If the platen  20  is moveable, the spray mechanism  28  may move in the same or opposite direction of the platen  20 . 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, a front gutter  58  and a rear gutter  50  may be placed respectively at the ends of the platen  20 . The gutters  32  may be mounted to the side walls  17  at a first angle ( FIG. 7 ) pointed upwards from the side walls  17  from the sidewall. The gutter angle allows the gutters  17  to catch the overspray  36  and bounce and shield components of the system under the platen  20  from the overspray  36 . The ends  37  of the gutters  32  may also be fixed at a second angle sloping downwards ( FIG. 8 ) along the enclosed housing  14  in order for the collected overspray  36  and bounce to drain through the gutters  32  to the drain port  44 . The drain port  44  may collect the overspray  36  for reuse. 
         [0028]    The user (not shown) may open the drawer  16  and load the portion of the garment  12  to be pretreated onto the platen  20 . Some of the garment may hang over the sides of the platen  20  and may be tucked into the platen.  20 . The user may tuck the portion of the garment  12  not to be pretreated underneath of the platen  20 , so it may not be caught on the edge of the gutters  32 ,  50 ,  58  as the drawer  16  may be slid inside of the enclosed housing  14 . As the platen  20  and garment  12  may be pushed into the enclosed housing  14 , the folded garment  42  may be in contact with the gutters  32 ,  50 ,  58  which may seal off the area of the enclosed housing from polluting the area outside the enclosed housing. The user may start the pretreatment process by pressing the start button  46 . Spray travelling beyond the edges of the platen  20  may be caught by the gutters  32 ,  50 , and  58 . The garment  12  extending between the platen  20  and the edge  33  may further shield the areas under the platen  20  from the over bounce. Once the pretreatment process is completed, the user may press the stop button  48  and pull out the drawer  16  allowing access to the garment  12 . 
         [0029]    The overspray protection system  10  may be used during a variety of spray coating processes, for example, molding or trim, flat panel displays, non-reflective glass, glass panels, roll to roll fabrics, and painting of walls. 
         [0030]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.