Spray applicator

A spray applicator is disclosed. The spray applicator can include a carrier body including a number of contact surfaces and at least two nozzle bodies. Each nozzle body can be fastened on one of the contact surfaces and have a spray slit for producing a spray jet fanned out transversely to a center plane. the center planes can cross one another along a straight line. The straight line can extend outside the carrier body. The contact surfaces can face the straight line and be offset with respect to one another in the direction of the straight line.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a spray applicator for applying a layer to a surface (e.g., for applying an insulating material to an automotive body sheet in motor vehicle construction).

BACKGROUND

A nozzle body is described in DE 10 2005 013 972 A1. This nozzle body has on a first end face a convexly curved spray slit. Extending from the spray slit into the nozzle body is a cavity in the form of a sector of a circle of a small thickness. A material feed bore extends from the tip of the cavity to an opposite end face of the nozzle body. The elongated spray slit forms a fan-shaped spray jet from the stream of material supplied.

When the nozzle body is moved perpendicularly to the plane in which the spray jet spreads out, the spray material is deposited as a strip extending along the direction of movement on a surface facing the spray slit. By moving over the surface a number of times along paths offset parallel to one another, a coating that is made to extend in two dimensions can be produced.

SUMMARY

A spray applicator is disclosed. The spray applicator can include a carrier body including a number of contact surfaces and at least two nozzle bodies. Each nozzle body can be fastened on one of the contact surfaces and have a spray slit for producing a spray jet fanned out transversely to a center plane. the center planes can cross one another along a straight line. The straight line can extend outside the carrier body. The contact surfaces can face the straight line and be offset with respect to one another in the direction of the straight line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To spray on a mat of insulating material inside a body of a motor vehicle, for example on a floor panel, a tool carrying the nozzle body can be introduced into the body through a window opening. To coat surfaces that are difficult to access in spite of the consequently restricted freedom of movement of the tool, the tool conventionally comprises a carrier body in the form of a prism, on the lateral surfaces of which the nozzle bodies are mounted so as to protrude in different directions. By selectively applying material to these nozzle bodies, spraying can be performed in different directions without having to change the orientation of the carrier body to do so, and, by moving the tool back and forth along the same path while doing so, a number of strips parallel to one another can be deposited.

However, it can be disadvantageous if the arrangement comprising the carrier body and the nozzle bodies is too bulky to fit into narrow intermediate spaces, such as for instance the interior of a door sill. Since the spray slits at the ends of the nozzle bodies remote from the carrier body are far away from one another, it may be impossible to form a continuous layer from strips adjacent to one another without gaps in between by moving the tool over the same path a number of times and in the process applying material to different nozzle bodies each time.

Among other things, the present application discloses a spray applicator that is capable of spraying in a distributed manner over a large angular range, and which at the same time can be made compact enough to get into even narrow intermediate spaces.

In an embodiment, the spray applicator includes a carrier body, which has a number of contact surfaces, with at least two nozzle bodies, wherein each nozzle body is fastened on one of the contact surfaces and has a spray slit for producing a spray jet fanned out transversely to a center plane, and wherein the center planes cross one another along a straight line, and in which the straight line extends outside the carrier body and the contact surfaces face the straight line and are offset with respect to one another in the direction of the straight line.

Although even in the case of the conventional construction there is a straight line in which the center planes of two nozzle bodies cross one another, the contact surfaces are facing away from the straight line, and the straight line extends through the carrier body. This results in a spray applicator with a star-like, bulky construction. In an embodiment of the disclosed spray applicator, on the other hand, the straight line extends through the nozzle bodies.

To keep the construction of the spray applicator simple and compact, a material feed channel that supplies the spray slit of one of the nozzle bodies can extend through the contact surface of the nozzle body.

To make efficient production and maintenance of the spray applicator possible, for example a quick change of the nozzle body in the event of clogging, the nozzle bodies can be structurally identical to one another. The nozzle bodies may be oriented in such a way that jet planes in which the spray jets of the nozzle bodies are fanned out cross one another. If the straight line in which these planes cross one another extends along a surface to be coated, this can make it easier to produce a sharply delimited layer parallel to the straight line. In some instances, it can be easier to produce a spray applicator in the case of which the spray jets are fanned out in jet planes parallel to one another.

Measured in the direction of the straight line in which the center planes of the nozzle bodies cross one another, the distance between two nozzle bodies can be less than the thickness of the nozzle bodies measured along the straight line. In an embodiment, the nozzle bodies touch one another, in order to minimize the distance of the jet planes from one another; in an embodiment, a non-vanishing distance may be required in order to ensure that, in spite of production tolerances, one nozzle body does not take up space that is required for mounting the other. In an embodiment, this distance is not more than 1 mm.

To arrange the nozzle bodies as closely clustered as possible in the direction of the straight line, but at the same time to have space available for anchoring the nozzle bodies on the carrier body, the length of the contact surfaces measured transversely to the straight line can be greater than the thickness of the nozzle bodies measured along the straight line.

For the same purpose, feet of the nozzle body lying against the contact surface can protrude from one end of a shaft of the nozzle body transversely to the straight line. These feet may have in each case a screw hole, which corresponds to a thread of the carrier body.

In an embodiment of the applicator, the distance between mutually facing ends of two spray slits can be made less than the distance between the ends of one spray slit. On the one hand, this ensures a compact structural form of the applicator, on the other hand, it is possible as a result to make the distance between the strips deposited with the aid of the two spray slits small or even to deposit the strips without any distance, merging with one another without gaps in between.

To make such depositing without gaps possible irrespective of the distance of the spray applicator from the surface to be coated, the spray jets of the first and second nozzle bodies can be adjacent to one another, seen along the straight line. A third nozzle body may be arranged on the carrier body in such a way that its spray jet overlaps with the spray jets of the first and second nozzle bodies.

FIG.1shows a nozzle body1that can be used in the spray applicator according to the invention, in an exploded view. According to the depicted embodiment, a head portion2of the nozzle body1comprises a number of plates3,4,3, which in the assembled state are clamped between two clamping jaws5,6. The plates3,4,3and clamping jaws5,6are held together with the aid of screws7(seeFIG.3), which extend through the countersunk bores8of the clamping jaw5that receive the heads of the screws7and through clearances9of the plates3,4,3in threaded bores10of the clamping jaw6.

The plate4has at its upper edge a triangular clearance11. Peripheral edges of the clearance11extend symmetrically on both sides of a center plane12, which is represented in the figure by two dash-dotted straight lines defining it.

The plates3, which flank the plate4on both sides, have at their upper edge in each case a projection13in the form of an arc of a circle. The intermediate space between the projections13of the two plates3and the clearance11form in the assembled state a cavity, which is made to extend transversely to the center plane12and the open peripheral edge of which forms between two ends37,38an elongated, convexly curved spray slit14.

The form of the spray slit14enforces a spreading out of the sprayed material in the form of a fan-shaped spray jet19with an opening angle 2α of for example 60° in a jet plane18perpendicular to the center plane12and parallel to the plates3,4,3.

Clearances15of the plates3that are open at their peripheral edge in the downward direction and grooves16overlapping with them on the mutually facing flanks of the clamping jaws5,6form the downstream end of a material feed channel17, by way of which the spray slit14is supplied with material to be sprayed.

The head portion2is adjoined in the downward direction by a shaft20. The material feed channel17continues by extending through the shaft20along the longitudinal axis41thereof. In the assembled state of the nozzle body1, this longitudinal axis41coincides with a straight line in which the center plane12and the jet plane18cross one another. Feet21protrude in opposite directions from an end of the shaft20remote from the head portion2.

FIG.2shows a perspective view of a carrier body22. According to this embodiment, three pedestals24,25,26protrude from a rectangular or square baseplate23with edge lengths11,12. One of these pedestals, the middle one25, is cuboidal, with a contact surface28parallel to the baseplate23. The two other pedestals24,26are prism-shaped, with contact surfaces29and27respectively inclined in relation to the baseplate23and in relation to the contact surface28by α and 2α, respectively. Regions of the baseplate23adjacent to the narrow sides of the pedestals24,26are provided in each case with bores39, which serve for fastening the baseplate on a shaft40(seeFIG.3).

In the depicted embodiment, the elongatedly rectangular contact surfaces27-29are for mounting one of three nozzle bodies1that are structurally identical to one another on them in each case, as shown inFIG.3. A through-bore30in the middle of each contact surface27-29is part of the material feed channel17supplying the nozzle body1mounted on it. On both sides of the through-bore30there are threaded bores31, in which the nozzle body1is fastened with the aid of screws32extending through holes33of the feet21.

Surface normals34, which extend out of the pedestals24,25,26respectively from the center of the contact surfaces27,28,29, cross a straight line35parallel to the contact surfaces27,28,29. The straight line35is the same distance away from all of the contact surfaces27,28,29.

In the embodiment ofFIG.3, the straight line35extends through the nozzle bodies1fastened on the contact surfaces27,28,29. The longitudinal axes41of the nozzle bodies1coincide with the surface normals34of the contact surfaces27,28,29, so that the center planes12(not represented inFIG.3) of the nozzle bodies1cross one another along a straight line35and their jet planes18are perpendicular to one another on the straight line35.

Since the feet21of the nozzle bodies1in each case protrude transversely to the center planes12, although access to the screws32is made somewhat more difficult by head portions2of the nozzle bodies1, in return it is possible to arrange the nozzle bodies1very close together along the straight line35, with head portions2almost or actually touching one another, and thus to keep the edge length11of the baseplate23that is parallel to the straight line35small. The width b of the nozzle bodies1in the direction of the straight line35is one third of the edge length11.

Referring to the embodiment ofFIG.3, the length13of the contact surfaces27,28,29is less than the edge length12of the baseplate23. Therefore, on its narrow side facing away from the viewer inFIGS.2and3, the pedestal25does not extend as far as the peripheral edge of the baseplate23, so that there, between the pedestals24,26, there is space for a third bore, in addition to the bores39, for anchoring on the shaft40.

FIG.3shows a straight line36touching the projections13of the nozzle bodies1and parallel to the straight line35. Spray slits14of the nozzle bodies1mounted on the contact surfaces27,28extend on opposite sides of the plane defined by the straight lines35,36. The mutually facing ends37of these two spray slits14touch the straight line36, so that, seen in the direction of the straight lines35,36and as shown in the embodiment ofFIG.4, the spray jets19of these two nozzle bodies1are directly adjacent to one another.

When the spray applicator formed by the carrier body22and the nozzle bodies1mounted on it is moved along a groove-shaped concavity38, such as for instance the inner side of a door sill, these spray jets19adjacent to one another make it possible to apply material to the nozzle body1on the contact surface27in the course of a movement along the concavity38in the direction of the straight line35, and thus to apply a strip of material42on the inner side of the concavity38, in a second movement in the same direction, without a transverse movement in the meantime, to apply by way of the nozzle body1a second strip of material43, which half overlaps with the strip42, on the contact surface29(concealed inFIG.4) and in a third movement to apply with the nozzle body1a strip44, which half overlaps with the strip43, on the contact surface28and in this way to form a coating without gaps of a constant layer thickness apart from production tolerances.

To coat the left side of the concavity38, which is still exposed inFIG.4, the applicator can be turned about the surface normal34of the contact surface28—which here is at the same time the longitudinal axis of the shaft40—by 180° and then once again to apply material to each nozzle body1in the course of three movements along the straight line35.

Among other things, and referring toFIGS.1-4, the present application discloses a spray applicator with a carrier body (22), which has a number of contact surfaces (27,28,29), with at least two nozzle bodies (1), wherein each nozzle body (1) is fastened on one of the contact surfaces (27,28,29) and has a spray slit (14) for producing a spray jet (19) fanned out transversely to a center plane (12), and wherein the center planes (12) cross one another along a straight line (35), wherein the straight line (35) extends outside the carrier body (22) and the contact surfaces (27,28,29) face the straight line (35) and are offset with respect to one another in the direction of the straight line (35).

In an embodiment, the straight line (35) extends through the nozzle body (1). In an embodiment, the material feed channel (17), which supplies the spray slit (14) of one of the nozzle bodies (1), extends through the contact surface (27,28,29) of the nozzle body (1). In an embodiment, the nozzle bodies (1) are structurally identical to one another. In an embodiment, the spray jets (19) are fanned out in jet planes (18) parallel to one another.

In an embodiment, the distance between two nozzle bodies (1) measured along the straight line (35) is less than the thickness of the nozzle bodies (1) measured along the straight line (35). In an embodiment, the length of the contact surfaces (26,27,28) measured transversely to the straight line (35) is greater than the thickness of the nozzle bodies (1) measured along the straight line (35).

In an embodiment, at least one of the nozzle bodies (1) has a shaft (20) extending transversely to its contact surface (26,27,28) and feet (21) protruding from one end of the shaft (20) transversely to the straight line (35) and lying against the contact surface (26,27,28). In an embodiment, the feet (21) have in each case a screw hole (33), which corresponds to a threaded bore (31) of the carrier body (22).

In an embodiment, the distance between mutually facing ends (37) of two spray slits (14), seen along the straight line (35), is less than the distance between the ends (37,38) of a spray slit (14). In an embodiment, seen along the straight line (35), the spray jets (19) of the first and second nozzle bodies (1) are adjacent to one another. In an embodiment, the spray jet (19) of a third nozzle body (1) overlaps with the spray jets (19) of the first and second nozzle bodies (1).

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS